W^>9  »<^>»  3^S>3  ♦  S 


Geological  seminary.! 


A     Princeton,  N.  J- 

BX    9^^P4noTT4oTl858 

Boardman,  Henry  A.  1808- 

1880. 
A  quarter-century  discourse 


/-£<: 


U 

It- 


< 


Yc^  ?/ 


KM<- 


<<  d-TU-jttr  &L  t/?^.  CcclL)c  - 


L^Cc* 


C   .    ^JC  Let  (t^c*-c^ 


/I  t  <-  <-  <±  c  c& 


/fit-<f. 


hjo   ^ 


QUARTER-CENTURY  DISCOURSE: 


DELIVERED  IN  THE  TENTH  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,  PHILADELPHIA, 
ON  SUNDAY,  NOVEMBER  7,  1S5S. 


BY 


/ 

HENRY  A.  BOARDMAN,  D.  D. 


PHILADELPHIA: 
PARRY     AND     MCMILLAN 

1858. 


CORRESPONDENCE 


Philadelphia,  November  10,  1S58. 
Rev.  and  Dear  Sir  : — 

We  thank  you  for  the  very  instructive  and  impressive 
Discourses  which,  as  our  Pastor,  you  delivered  to  us  last  Sab- 
bath— on  the  occasion  of  the  Twenty-fifth  Anniversary  of  your 
installation  over  "The  Tenth  Church." 

It  is  the  earnest  desire  of  the  congregation,  as  it  is  also  of  a 
number  of  your  ministerial  brethren  and  other  friends  who  were 
present,  that  these  Discourses  should  be  published.  We  trust, 
therefore,  that  you  will  kindly  yield  to  our  solicitations,  and 
commit  them  to  us  for  that  purpose. 

Praying  that  in  entering  upon  the  labors  of  another  Quarter 
of  a  Century,  you  may  richly  enjoy  the  blessing  of  God  in  your 
person,  and  in  your  great  work, 

We  are  truly  and  affectionately  yours, 

R.  Patterson,  James  Warren*, 

Hugh  Campbell,  Wm.  E.  Dubois, 

C.  B.  Jaudox,  W.  D.  Bell, 

J.  B.  Ross,  John  McArtuir, 

Charles  Gilpin,  A.  W.  Mitchell, 

Wm.  A.  Ingham,  W.  Sargent. 

Rev.  H.  A.  BOARDMAN,  D.  D. 


Philadelphia,  November  16,  1858. 
My  Dear  Friends  : — 

I  wrote  my  Quarter-Century  Sermon  with  the  determina- 
tion not  to  publish  it.  It  is  so  much  about  myself  and  my 
church,  that  I  felt  that  there  would  be  an  indelicacy  in  spread- 
ing it  before  the  public.  But  I  have  been  overruled.  My  people 
seem  resolved  upon  having  it ;  and  my  clerical  brethren  who 
heard  it,  have  been  kind  enough  to  say  that  "  it  ought  to  be 
printed  for  the  general  good."  Under  these  circumstances,  with 
a  grateful  appreciation  of  the  friendly  terms  in  which  you  have 
conveyed  your  request,  I  place  the  manuscript  in  your  hands, 
and  remain,  sincerely  and  affectionately, 

Your  friend  and  Pastor, 

HENRY  A.  BOARDMAN. 

To 

Major  General  Patterson, 
Hugh  Campbell,  Esq., 
Charles  B.  Jaudon,  M.  D., 
and  Others. 


DISCOURSE. 


"SO    WILL    I    COMPASS    THINE    ALTAR,    0    LORD :     THAT    I    MAY 
PUBLISH    WITH    THE   VOICE   OF   THANKSGIVING,  AND   TELL  OF  ALL 

Thy  wondrous  works." — Psalm  xxvi.  6,  7. 

As  I  appear  before  you  this  morning,  my 
mind  goes  back  irresistibly  to  the  scene  pre- 
sented in  this  house  on  a  Friday  evening,  just 
twenty-five  years  ago.*  The  Presbytery  to 
which  the  church  belonged  was  convened 
here,  and  with  them  a  crowded  auditory,  who 
had  come  together,  as  might  be,  to  indulge  a 
rational  curiosity,  or  to  testify  their  Christian 
sympathy  in  the  solemnities  of  that  hour.  In 
such  a  presence,  after  an  impressive  sermon 
by  my  venerable  predecessor  in  this  pulpit,  I 
knelt  in  yonder  aisle  and  was  ordained  to  the 
ministry  'by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of 
the  Presbytery ;'  after  which,  I  was  installed 

*  November  8,  1833. 


10  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

as  the  Pastor  of  this  congregation.  The  aged 
preacher,  yielding  to  accumulated  bodily  in- 
firmities, has  long  since  ceased  from  all  active 
ministrations ;  and  the  voice  which  charged 
you  to  be  faithful  to  your  trust,  is  silent  under 
the  pressure  of  a  living  death.  Of  the  hands 
which  were  first  lifted  in  response  to  the  pre- 
scribed demand,  '  Do  you  profess  your  readi- 
ness to  take  this  man  to  be  your  minister?' 
and  then,  as  the  benediction  closed,  were 
stretched  forth  to  give  me  a  generous  and 
hearty  welcome,  many  are  paralyzed  in  the 
grave,  and  still  more  are  dispersed  over  the 
broad  earth.  Only  here  and  there,  as  I  look 
around  my  congregation,  do  I  recognize  one 
who  participated  in  the  services  of  that  even- 
ing, and  went  home  to  offer  at  the  household 
altar  a  prayer  for  the  youthful  Pastor  who 
had  dared,  possibly  unsent  of  God,  to  assume 
a  charge  so  disproportionate  to  his  years  and 
his  powers. 

What  my  own  emotions  were  on  that  even- 
ing, I  could  not  well  express.  It  is,  under 
any  circumstances,  a  transaction  of  deep  so- 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  11 

lemnity,  for  a  man  to  be  ordained  to  the 
sacred  ministry.  But  for  a  young  man  to 
exchange  the  training  and  tutelage  of  the 
Theological  Seminary,  for  the  official  care  and 
oversight  of  a  metropolitan  church — to  enter, 
wholly  inexperienced,  and  with  scant  resources 
of  every  kind,  upon  a  Pastorate  involving 
labors  and  responsibilities  like  this — you  may 
well  suppose  that  such  a  transaction  would 
stir  his  nature  to  its  lowest  depths  and  make 
him  feel,  with  the  apostle,  '  Who  is  sufficient 
for  these  things?' 

You  have  a  right  to  know  how  I  came  to 
take  upon  myself  a  burden  to  which  I  was  so 
unequal.  I  cannot  relate  it  in  a  sentence  or 
two.  Nor  can  I  do  justice  to  the  present 
anniversary,  without  saying  much  more  about 
myself  than  is  agreeable  to  my  feelings.  There 
are  occasions,  however,  when  a  Pastor  may  be 
allowed  to  refer  to  his  own  experience  as  illus- 
trating the  mystery  of  God's  providence.  Your 
kindness  will  excuse  me  if,  after  spending  a 
quarter  of  a  century  with  you,  I  devote  an 
hour  to  the  recital  of  some  personal  reminis- 


12  Quarter  -  Century  Discourse. 

cences   not  altogether   alien  from   your  own 
history  as  a  congregation. 

Let  me  premise,  for  the  information  of  fami- 
lies who  have  but  recently  united  with  us,  a 
very  concise  statement  respecting  the  origin 
of  the  church.     The  merit  of  proposing  the 
erection  of  a  church  on  this  spot,  is  due  to  the 
late   Furman   Leaming.     Mr.  Learning   asso- 
ciated with  himself  five  other  gentlemen,  viz., 
Messrs.  John  Stille,  of  the  Second  Church, 
George  Ralston  and  James  Kerr,  of  the  First 
Church,  and  William   Brown  and   Solomon 
Allen,  of  the   Sixth  Church.     Through  the 
liberality  and  energy  of  these  six  Christian 
men,  the  work  was  accomplished.     The  cor- 
ner-stone   was    laid   with    appropriate    cere- 
monies by  the  late  venerable  Ashbel  Green, 
D.D.,  on  the  8th  day  of  August,  1828.     On 
the  24th  of  May  following,  the  first  sermon 
was  preached  in  the  Lecture-room  by  the  Rev. 
Derrick  C.  Lansing,  D.  D.     The  building  was 
completed  on  the  7th  of  December,  1829,  and 
opened  for  worship  on  the  ensuing  Sabbath. 

On  the  12th  of  March,  1829,  Messrs.  Fur- 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  13 

man  Learning,  John  Stille,  and  James  Kerr, 
were  elected  Ruling  Elders.  On  the  11th  of 
May,  of  the  same  year,  the  church  was  re- 
ceived under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery  of 
Philadelphia.  On  the  9th  of  November  fol- 
lowing, the  Rev.  Thomas  McAuley,  D.  D.,  of 
New  York,  was  elected  Pastor  of  the  church, 
and  duly  installed  on  the  17th  of  December. 
After  remaining  here  three  years,  during 
which  period  his  labors  were  greatly  blessed, 
Dr.  McAuley  resigned  the  Pastorate  (in  Jan. 
1833)  and  returned  to  the  city  of  New  York. 
In  the  Spring  of  the  preceding  year  (1832) 
Dr.  McAuley  had  seen  fit  to  unite  with  the 
Second  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  and  the 
ecclesiastical  relations  of  the  church  were 
transferred  to  that  body.  This  Presbytery 
had  been  formed  by  the  General  Assembly  on 
the  principle,  not  of  geographical  lines,  but  of 
'  elective  affinity,'  with  a  view  of  allaying  the 
controversy,  already  commenced  here,  which 
afterwards  culminated  in  the  disruption  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  The  congregation 
remained  without  a  Pastor  until  the  autumn 

2* 


14:  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

of  that  year — having,  at  the  time,  a  commu- 
nion roll  of  two  hundred  and  ninety-two 
members. 

Indulge  me  now  with  some  personal  recol- 
lections, which  I  should  not  think  of  uttering 
except  in  the  presence,  if  I  may  so  speak,  of 
my  own  household;  and  some  of  which  will 
be  new  even  to  you. 

Having  become  a  student  of  theology  at 
Princeton  in  the  Fall  of  1830,  I  was  licensed 
to  preach  the  Gospel  by  the  Presbytery  of 
New  York,  in  April,  1833.  Keturning  imme- 
diately to  the  Seminary,  it  so  happened,  that, 
under  the  system  of  rotation  then  observed 
at  Princeton,  it  fell  to  the  lot  of  the  venerable 
Dr.  Alexander  to  preach  in  the  village  church 
on  the  ensuing  Sabbath  evening.  Knowing 
that  I  had  come  back  with  my  License  in  my 
pocket,  nothing  would  answer  but  that  I  must 
take  his  place.  You  may  well  imagine  how 
such  a  proposal  would  strike  me,  and  how 
earnestly  I  tried  to  escape  from  the  service. 
But  he  was  inexorable.  I  must  go  with  him 
to  the  pulpit,  and  preach  my  first  sermon  to  a 


Quarter  -  Century  Discourse.  15 

congregation  assembled  to  hear  Dr.  Alexander. 
It  was  not  a  pleasant  ordeal.  But  as  I  look 
over  the  sermon  (1  Cor.  iii.  18,  'Let  no  man 
deceive  himself),  preached  then  for  the  first 
and  last  time,  I  have  the  satisfaction  of  know- 
ing that,  greatly  defective  as  it  is  in  many 
respects,  it  is  replete  with  Gospel  truth,  and 
addressed  to  men's  consciences  with  as  much 
point  and  solemnity  as  any  discourse  I  have 
written  since. 

During  the  remaining  four  or  five  months 
of  my  stay  at  Princeton  (the  course  then 
closed  in  September),  I  had  the  usual  expe- 
rience of  Seminary  students  in  their  Senior 
year,  as  regards  proposals  for  a  settlement. 
But  of  the  various  invitations  sent  to  me  from 
different  parts  of  the  church,  there  were  only 
one  or  two  which  occasioned  me  any  serious 
perplexity.  I  was  urgently  pressed  by  the 
Pastor  of  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  important 
Reformed  Dutch  Churches  in  the  city  of  New 
York,  to  become  his  colleague.  This  I  de- 
clined. And  then,  in  the  face  of  my  personal 
remonstrances,  a  call  was  sent  me  from  one  of 


16  Quarter ■  Century  Discourse. 

our  own  churches  in  that  city.  The  circum- 
stances attending  this  call  were  so  marked, 
that  the  congregation  felt  themselves  at  liberty 
to  urge  the  acceptance  of  it  with  great  per- 
sistency; and  it  cost  me  several  weeks  of 
anxiety,  before  I  could  finally  decline  it. 

One  thing  only  I  had  regarded  as  settled  in 
my  own  mind,  respecting  my  future  location: 
At  an  early  period  in  my  theological  studies, 
I  had  resolved,  even  should  the  opportunity 
present  itself,  not  to  go  from  the  Seminary  to 
a  large  city.  I  preferred  a  rural  congregation 
as  a  matter  of  taste  and  feeling;  and  my  de- 
liberate judgment  had  ratified  the  preference. 
But  we  are  all  led  in  paths  which  we  knew 
not.  I  had  my  plans,  and  God  had  his  pur- 
poses. In  the  end,  I  did  the  only  thing  which 
I  had  made  up  my  mind,  in  respect  to  a  set- 
tlement, I  would  not  do. 

The  Session  of , this  church  invited  me  to 
supply  their  vacant  pulpit.  The  first  Sabbath 
I  preached  here  was  July  28,  1833.  The  ser- 
mons were  from  Luke  vi.  43-45,  and  Isaiah 
i.  2,  3.     Three  weeks  after,  August  18, 1  again 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  17 

preached  for  them,  from  Rom.  i.  16,  and  Eccl. 
viii.  11.  On  the  2d  of  September,  the  congre- 
gation came  together,  and  with  entire  una- 
nimity and  cordiality,  resolved  to  invite  me 
to  become  their  Pastor.  Here  was  a  new  and 
most  important  question  to  be  met.  I  referred 
it,  after  seeking  wisdom  from  above,  to  our 
Professors.  With  one  voice  they  said  I  ought 
to  accept  the  call.  In  the  end,  I  did  accept 
it — not  without  many  misgivings,  but  satisfied 
that  the  pillar  of  cloud  had  moved  in  this 
direction,  and  that  there  was  neither  peace 
nor  safety  except  in  following  it. 

It  was  one  of  the  incidents  of  my  visit  to 
the  city  in  August,  that  the  Rev.  Dr.  Green 
waited  upon  me,  and  inquired  whether  I  would 
consent  to  entertain  a  call  from  another  of 
our  principal  churches  here,  which  was  also 
vacant.  I  respectfully  declined  the  overture. 
My  ordination  and  installation  had  been 
fixed  for  the  8th  of  November,  and  so  adver- 
tised in  the  public  papers.  On  reaching  the 
city,  perhaps  the  very  day  before  this,  I  found 
myself  brought  at  once  and  unavoidably  into 


18  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

that  burning  polemical  atmosphere  which  con- 
tinued to  enwrap  our  churches  for  several 
years  after.  It  has  already  been  mentioned, 
that  this  church  was  now  connected  with  the 
Second  Presbvterv  of  Philadelphia.  This 
Presbytery,  as  comprising  the  New  School 
elements  of  our  denomination  here,  was  ob- 
noxious to  the  Synod  of  Philadelphia;  and 
the  Synod  had  just  dissolved  it  on  the  eve  of 
my  arrival.  The  Presbytery  appealed  to  the 
General  Assembly ;  and,  by  the  constitutional 
force  of  the  appeal,  its  life  was  prolonged 
until  the  case  could  be  finally  issued.  But 
the  question  was,  c  Ought  I  to  join  a  Presby- 
tery, and  be  ordained  by  it,  which  was  in  this 
delicate  position?'  The  leading  men  of  the 
congregation,  its  founders  even,  were  divided 
on  this  point;  and  some  of  them  displayed  a 
degree  of  feeling  in  discussing  it  with  me, 
amounting  almost  to  acerbity.  This  was 
sufficiently  embarrassing  within  twenty-four 
hours  of  the  time  publicly  announced  for  the 
ordination ;  and  the  trouble  was  not  mitigated 
by  a  most  unexpected  visit  from  the  Mode- 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  19 

rator  of  the  Synod,  the  Pastor  of  a  country 
church,  and  an  entire  stranger  to  me,  who 
sought  me  out  at  my  lodgings,  and  with  many 
words  endeavored  to  convince  me,  that  it 
would  be  extremely  unwise  and  irregular  fur 
me  to  allow  the  service  to  go  on.  You  can 
readily  imagine  the  state  of  painful  perplexity 
into  which  I  was  thrown  by  these  occurrences. 
Had  there  been  time  to  hasten  to  Princeton 
for  an  hour,  the  burden  would  have  lost  more 
than  half  its  weight.  But  that  wTas  impossi- 
ble, and  it  was  not  a  day  of  telegraphs. 
There  was  not  a  single  Presbyterian  Pastor  in 
the  city,  to  whom  I  could  look  for  counsel 
with  any  hope  of  obtaining  impartial  advice. 
But  a  gracious  Providence  relieved  me.  On 
my  way  to  the  city,  I  found  on  board  the  boat 
that  man  of  God,  whose  praise  was  in  all  the 
churches,  the  late  Rev.  Dr.  Nevins,  of  Balti- 
more. He  was  to  spend  a  day  here  with  his 
friends.  It  occurred  to  me  that  he  would  be 
an  unprejudiced  judge;  and  I  wras  sure  he 
would  appreciate  the  difficulties  of  my  situa- 
tion.    I  went  to  him  as  I  would  go  to  an 


20  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

elder  brother,  and  opened  to  him  my  bur- 
dened heart.  He  entered  into  the  matter 
with  a  genial  sympathy,  and  counselled  me 
to  go  forward.  This  was  enough.  I  conferred 
no  more  with  flesh  and  blood;  and  the  tie 
was  formed  which,  by  God's  mercy,  has  now 
bound  me  to  you  for  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

I  say,  '  has  bound  me  to  you'  In  one 
sense,  this  language  is  sufficiently  accurate ; 
for  churches  retain  their  identity,  whatever 
changes  may  occur  among  the  individuals 
who  compose  them.  But  it  is  one  of  the 
affecting  experiences  of  this  day,  that  I  should 
find  myself  surrounded  by  a  congregation 
radically  different  from  the  one  which  re- 
ceived me  on  that  memorable  evening.  No 
one  can  be  aware,  except  by  giving  special 
attention  to  the  subject,  how  constant  and 
potential  is  this  law  of  change  which  controls 
the  destiny  of  congregations  in  large  cities. 
It  escapes  observation,  partly  because  the  pro- 
cess is  silent  and  gradual,  and  partly  because 
there  are  ordinarily  no  social  bonds  like  those 
which  clasp  the  members  of  a  rural  church 


a  far. 
an  incident  to  be  known  and  tfl 
immunity.     In 

.  iy.  these  matal 

and  rapidity  which  m  !  unknown  in  l 

other  lands.     N  I  are  li  .  in  t. 

childhood,  fond  of  char  s 

A  ifal  nation   . 

ours  cannot 

•re  rovir. . 
how  it  may  bettor  il 
our  vast  territory,  and  the  count. 

i  to  |  .1  arn;  lanical  in- 

commercial    enterprise,    and     I  . 
If-indnl  .  the  indn 

facilities  for  indulging  this  propen 
inviting  to  t  L     Add  the  in- 

fluence of  taste  and  preferei  fortune 

and  affliction,  and  of  the  numerous  rdi- 

nate  agencies  which  inhere  in  the  social  c 
pact  and  shape  its  growth ;  and  we  shall  have 
an  adequate  explanation  of  the  c 
petually  in  progress  in  our  congregation 

I  came  in  1833.  as  just  stated,  to  a  church 


22  Q uarter -  Century  Discourse. 

of  two  hundred  and  ninety-two  members.  Of 
these  there  are  but  thirty-seven  remaining. 
All  the  Elders  who  constituted  the  Session, 
and  their  three  associates  in  founding  the 
church,  are  dead.  Of  the  families  I  found 
here,  there  are  but  two  which  death  has  not 
entered,  and  only  six  in  which  one  or  both  of 
the  heads  have  not  been  removed.  In  so  far 
as  can  be  ascertained,  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
eight  persons  in  the  communion  of  the  church, 
have  died  within  the  period  specified.  The 
number  of  deaths  in  the  congregation  since 
Jan.  1,  1841  (there  is  no  record  beyond  that), 
has  been,  of  children,  sixty-eight,  adults,  one 
hundred  and  ninety-five;  total,  two  hundred 
and  sixty-three — an  average  annual  mortality 
of  fifteen. 

The  number  of  additions  to  the  church  dur- 
ing this  quarter  century,  has  been  one  thou- 
sand and  sixty-eight;  to  wit:  four  hundred 
and  ninety-three  by  certificate,  and  five  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  by  examination — an 
average  accession  of  eleven  (nearly)  at  each 
of  our  one  hundred  communions.     The  pre- 


Quarter  -  Century  Discourse.  2 3 

sent  number  of  communicants   in  actual  at- 
tendance is  about  four  hundred  and  fifty.* 

The  largest  additions  by  examination,  have 
been,  in  their  chronological  order,  as  follows : 
In  March  1835,  twenty-three;  March  1838, 
thirty-four;  March  1840,  twenty-eight;  March 
1841,  seventeen;  March  1843,  thirty-one; 
June  1852,  sixteen;  March  1855,  fourteen; 
June  1858,  forty-one.  At  several  of  these 
periods,  the  Spirit  of  God  has  been  manifestly 
present  in  the  congregation,  with  unusual 
power.  His  sacred  influences  have  come 
down,  not  as  in  the  fire  and  the  earthquake, 
but  Mike  rain  upon  the  mown  grass,  as 
showers  that  water  the  earth.'  The  souls  of 
his  people  have  been  refreshed,  and  sinners 
have  been  converted  from  the  error  of  their 
ways.     These  visitations  of  the  Divine  mercy, 

*  On  a  careful  examination  of  the  church-books,  I  find  that 
by  some  oversight,  the  number  of  communicants  reported  has 
been  too  high  for  several  years — some  being  counted  in  the 
returns  who  have  left  the  city,  although  their  names  remain 
upon  our  Register.  I  think  it  just  to  make  full  allowance  for 
these,  and  therefore  put  down  the  present  number  of  members 
in  actual  attendance  at  four  hundred  and  fifty. 


2-L  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

as  will  appear  by  the  statistics  just  recited, 
have,  almost  without  exception,  occurred  in 
the  winter  or  spring  of  the  year.  The  pro- 
vidence and  the  grace  of  God  work  in  har- 
mony. And  the  result  just  indicated  can 
surprise  no  one  who  is  familiar  with  the  social 
and  commercial  life  of  a  great  city,  and  accus- 
tomed to  trace  out  the  religious  tendencies  of 
the  annual  dispersion  of  the  inhabitants  in 
the  warm  season. 

But  while  we  are  grateful  for  these  times  of 
refreshing  with  which  it  has  pleased  God  to 
brighten  our  path,  let  us  not  overlook  the  im- 
portant fact,  that  the  church  has  grown  rather 
by  steady,  gradual  accretion  than  by  revivals 
of  religion.  This  unquestionably  is  the  esta- 
blished plan  of  the  Divine  government.  He 
has  his  set  times  to  favor  Zion ;  and  glorious 
times  thev  are.  We  should  never  snve  over 
praying  for  them,  until  he  has  established  and 
made  Jerusalem  a  joy  in  the  earth.  But  we 
have  no  Scripture  warrant  for  placing  our  chief 
dependence  upon  revivals.  The  church  has 
been  mainly  perpetuated  by  means  of  faithful 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  25 

parental  instruction,  and  through  the  stated 
ministrations  of  the  sanctuary.  Where  these 
two  agencies  are  duly  employed,  and  sustained 
by  the  fervent  and  habitual  prayers  of  God's 
people,  the  work  of  conversion  will  be  always 
going  on.  And  it  is  this  constant,  healthy 
growth  which  every  church  should  desire,  and 
to  which  every  Christian  is  bound  to  lend  his 
influence. 

The  ordinance  of  Baptism  has  been  admin- 
istered by  the  Pastor,  to  five  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  children  and  one  hundred  and 
five  adults — in  all,  seven  hundred  and  three 
persons.  He  has  solemnized  the  rite  of  mar- 
riage two  hundred  and  twenty-two  times. 
His  visits  have  been  from  three  hundred  to 
five  hundred  annually — an  aggregate,  say,  of 
ten  thousand  during  his  ministry. 

I  have  no  data  within  my  reach,  which 
would  enable  me  to  present  even  an  outline 
history  of  our  Sunday  Schools.  But  I  think  I 
am  quite  within  bounds  when  I  express  the 
belief,  that  some  eight  thousand  children  must, 

3* 


26  Quarter- Century  Discourse. 

within  the  last  twenty-five  years,  have  been 
brought  under  religious  instruction,  in  the 
various  schools  connected  with  this  congrega- 
tion. Besides  the  parent-school,  the  Sabbath 
School  of  a  declining  church  in  Southwark, 
was,  many  years  since,  resuscitated  by  the  la- 
bors of  some  of  our  members.  A  corps  of  faith- 
ful teachers  from  here  sustained,  for  a  term  of 
years,  a  flourishing  school  in  the  North  West- 
ern part  of  the  city,  which  was  relinquished 
only  because  it  was  found  impossible  to  pro- 
cure a  hall  in  which  it  could  be  continued. 
The  first  Niglit-scJiool  in  our  city  for  the  gra- 
tuitous instruction  of  young  men,  was  estab- 
lished, it  is  believed,  by  a  few  gentlemen  of 
our  congregation.  This  laudable  example 
was,  after  a  while,  followed  by  our  municipal 
authorities.  Night-schools  were,  with  great 
advantage  to  the  city,  engrafted  upon  our 
public  school  system,  and  have  since  been  in- 
troduced into  Boston  and  other  cities.  And, 
to  close  this  series,  you  have  for  sixteen  years 
sustained  that  admirable  Sunday  School  in 
Moyamcnsing,    which    has,    within    the    last 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  27 

month,  expanded  into  a  church,  and  received 
here,  within  these  walls,  its  first  Pastor.* 

No  one  may  presume  to  trace  the  vast  and 
intricate  results  which  must  flow  from  these 
various  efforts.  It  is  matter  of  record,  that 
they  have  already,  by  God's  blessing,  brought 
many  souls  to  Christ;  and  that  they  have 
exerted  a  wholesome  influence  upon  some 
thousands  of  others.  But  there  is  a  different 
aspect  in  which  the  present  occasion  brings 
them  before  us.  They  indicate  the  character 
of  the  church.  They  show  that,  on  some 
limited  scale  at  least,  Christian  activity  has 
been  the  law  of  our  household.  I  dare  not 
say  that  this  has  been  the  paramount  law  with 
us : — would  that  it  had  been.  But  I  may  and 
do  assert,  that  while  as  a  church  we  have  been 
very  slothful  and  lukewarm,  there  has  always 
been  a  leaven  here  of  the  right  kind — a  body 
of  faithful  disciples,  of  both  sexes,  who  have 
never  forgotten  our  Saviour's  words,  '  Ye  are 

*  The  Rev.  Willard  M.  Rice  was  ordained  to  the  ministry  and 
installed  as  Pastor  of  the  "Moyamensing  Presbyterian  Church," 
on  Monday,  Oct.  18,  18.53. 


28  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

the  light  of  the  world ;'  '  Ye  are  the  salt  of 
the  earth ;'  c  It  is  better  to  give  than  it  is  to 
receive.'  They  have  not  been  content,  like 
the  arid  desert,  to  drink  in  the  rain  and  the 
sunshine  of  heaven,  and  make  no  return.  Ke- 
freshed  with  the  bread  of  heaven  and  animated 
by  the  love  of  Christ,  they  have  gone  forth  in 
quest  of  the  needy  and  perishing,  and  gathered 
them  into  schools,  and  taught  them  the  words 
of  eternal  life.  In  this  work  of  benevolence, 
they  have  not  only  communicated,  but  re- 
ceived, benefit.  The  measure  which,  in  their 
noble  philanthropy,  they  meted  out  to  others, 
has  been  returned  sevenfold  into  their  own 
bosoms.  It  has  kept  alive  the  fervor  of  their 
piety,  and  made  them  an  example  to  the  rest 
of  us ;  and,  so,  they  have  brought  back  from 
their  rude  mission-fields,  sheaves  of  blessing 
which  have  relieved* our  penury  and  helped 
us  in  our  warfare.  Had  they  nothing  to  show 
for  their  exertions  outside  these  walls,  this 
church  has  profited  by  their  labors  beyond  the 
power  of  common  language  to  express.  And 
the  lesson  which  a  Pastor  must  long,  in  such 


Quarter- Century  Discourse.  29 

circumstances,  to  impress  upon  every  one  of 
his  people,  is  that  familiar  but  too  often  neg- 
lected one,  c  Go,  thou,  and  do  likewise.' 

It  is  not  essential  that  I  should  speak  in 
detail  of  what  the  church  has  done  for  the 
cause  of  Christian  benevolence.  The  pecu- 
niary resources  of  the  congregation  have  va- 
ried at  different  times,  as  the  disposition  cer- 
tainly has,  to  devise  liberal  things  for  the 
spread  of  the  Gospel.  I  may  be  allowed  to 
specify  two  instances  (the  erection  of  a  new 
church  will  be  noticed  by  and  by),  in  which 
your  liberality  displayed  itself  in  a  somewhat 
pre-eminent  way.  The  first  of  these  was  at 
the  semi-centenary  commemoration  of  1839. 
Our  church  then  celebrated  the  Fiftieth  Anni- 
versary of  the  organization  of  the  General 
Assembly ;  and  the  funds  collected  on  that 
occasion  as  a  thank-offering  to  God,  were  ap- 
plied to  the  endowment  of  the  Board  of  Publi- 
cation. Your  share  in  that  thank-offering, 
amounted  to  nearly  eight  thousand  dollars; 
the  largest  sum  contributed  by  any  church  in 
our  connection.    Again,  when  it  became  neces- 


80  Quarter  -  Century  Discourse. 

sary  in  1845  to  complete  the  endowment  of 
the  Princeton  Theological  Seminary — a  work 
achieved  by  the  able  and  disinterested  exer- 
tions of  my  tried  friend  of  more  than  thirty 
years,  who  is  providentially  with  me  to-day* — 
you  attested  your  attachment  to  that  revered 
school  of  the  prophets,  and  your  love  for  the 
doctrines  inculcated  there,  by  a  prompt  and 
generous  offering  of  between  six  and  seven 
thousand  dollars,  exceeding  that  of  any  church 
except  one  in  our  body.  It  is  grateful  to  re- 
cord facts  like  these.  But  candor  may  demand 
a  further  statement.  We  do  not  always  re- 
spond in  this  way  even  to  the  most  meritori- 
ous appeals.  Many  who  were  once  ensamples 
to  the  congregation  in  this  respect,  have  been 
taken  from  us  by  death  or  otherwise.  It  is 
incumbent  upon  those  who  have  come  in  to 
occupy  their  places,  to  see  that  the  standard 
of  liberality  amongst  us  be  not  lowered.  It 
is  a  Divine  aphorism,  \  He  that  hath  pity  upon 
the  poor  lencleth  unto  the  Lord ;  and  that 
which  he  hath  given  will  He  pay  him  again.' 

*  The  Rev.  Cortlanpt  Van  Rensselaer,  D.  D. 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  31 

It  is  a  remarkable  expression,  he  c  lendetli  unto 
the  Lord!  It  will  be  well  for  us  to  inquire 
into  its  meaning  now;  and  to  ponder  also 
those  wonderful  words,  c  Inasmuch  as  ye  have 
done  it  unto  one  of  the  least  of  these  my 
brethren,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me/  Let 
these  truths  be  once  enshrined  in  our  hearts, 
and  there  need  be  no  further  solicitude  about 
the  tone  of  Christian  liberality  here. 

There  is  one  other  department  of  labor, 
which  it  would  be  inexcusable  to  pass  over, 
even  in  this  hasty  retrospect,  I  mean  the 
'Dorcas  Society'  of  the  congregation.  The 
idea  associated  with  this  ancient  and  honored 
name,  is  simply  that  of  providing  clothing  for 
a  certain  number  of  poor  women  and  children. 
Your  benevolence  has  taken  a  wider  sweep. 
After  clothing  all  the  needy  at  our  doors,  you 
devote  the  winter's  cheerful  industry  to  the 
families  of  our  faithful  and  often  suffering 
missionaries  at  the  West :  and  with  what  sig- 
nal, and  I  may  add,  unrivalled  energy,  you 
prosecute  this  good  work,  may  be  seen  by  the 
following  statistics.     Since  the  origin  of  the 


82  Quarter  -  Century  Discourse. 

Society  in  1836,  you  have  provided  for  desti- 
tute children  and  families  at  home,  ten  thou- 
sand three  hundred  garments.  The  Society 
commenced  working  for  the  missionaries,  in 
1844.  Within  these  fifteen  years,  you  have 
sent  to  these  men  of  God  and  their  families, 
eighty-nine  large  boxes,  containing  about  six- 
teen thousand  articles  of  clothing.*  The 
estimated  value  of  these  boxes  for  the  last 
four  years,  was  six  thousand  dollars.  The 
total  number  of  garments  prepared  for  both 
classes  of  objects,  from  the  beginning,  is 
upwards  of  twenty-six  thousand.  I  know 
you  will  say,  '  Give  God  the  glory.'  I  do 
give  Him  the  glory.  But  I  also  i  glorify  God 
in  you!  I  cannot  repress  the  pride  and 
pleasure  which  I  feel,  in  recalling  the  munifi- 
cent fruits  of  this  enlightened  and  efficient 
labor  on  the  part  of  the  ladies  of  my  congre- 
gation. I  am  ready  to  say,  'Many  daughters 
have  done  virtuously,  but  thou  excellest  them 
all !'     Certainly  if  the  same  admirable  system 

*  Of  this  quantity,  one-half,  i.  e.,  eight  thousand  pieces,  have 
been  sent  within  the  last  five  years. 


Quarter  -  Century  Discourse.  33 

which  you  pursue,  were  adopted  in  any  con- 
siderable number  of  the  congregations  of  our 
towns  and  cities,  not  only  would  every  mis- 
sion-family in  our  domestic  field  have  its 
wants  amply  supplied,  but  new  bonds  of  sym- 
pathy and  prayer  would  link  them  to  the 
church  at  large,  and  greatly  augment  their 
capacities  for  doing  good. 

Allusion  has  been  made  to  our  colonies. 
The  obligation  resting  upon  congregations 
which  God  has  been  pleased  to  prosper,  to  ex- 
tend the  means  of  grace  to  the  destitute 
around  them,  and,  whenever  practicable,  to 
establish  new  churches,  would  seem  to  be  too 
obvious  to  require  argument.  It  is,  no  doubt, 
very  pleasant  for  a  people  who  have  a  Pastor 
to  their  liking,  to  sit  down  and  enjoy  his  min- 
istrations without  concerning  themselves,  ex- 
cept by  an  occasional  contribution,  about  the 
wants  of  their  destitute  neighbors.  But  this 
is  not  'the  mind  which  was  in  Christ.'  Real 
Christianity  is,  like  leaven,  essentially  active, 
diffusive,  and  assimilating.  And,  if  needful, 
it  will  make  sacrifices  sooner  than  forego  the 


34:  Quarter  -  Century  Discourse. 

duty  and  pleasure  of  sharing  its  good  things 
with  others.  It  was  observed  a  moment  or 
two  ago,  that  there  had  always  been  some- 
thing of  this  spirit  here.  For  myself,  I  may 
say,  it  had  been  for  many  years  my  anxious 
wish  that  the  church  should  colonize.  In  the 
winter  of  1846-7,  I  devoted  a  good  deal  of 
time  and  attention  to  a  plan  for  establishing  a 
church  on  Logan  Square.  In  connection  with 
two  or  three  gentlemen  of  my  church,  who 
entered  heartily  into  the  scheme,  I  explored 
that  part  of  the  city.  We  selected  a  lot  of 
ground  most  advantageously  situated.  Seve- 
ral conferences  were  held  at  my  house  and 
elsewhere;  and,  in  the  end,  the  plan  failed 
only  because  it  was  not  met  in  a  spirit  of  cor- 
responding liberality  by  parties  residing  in 
that  vicinity,  and  who  would  have  been  per- 
sonally benefited  by  the  enterprise.  Thus 
Logan  Square  was  lost  to  us.  But  the  idea 
was  not  abandoned. 

On  the  evening  of  the  20th  of  January, 
1852,  a  considerable  number  of  gentlemen  be- 
longing to  the  congregation,  met  by  invitation 


Quarter •-  Century  Discourse.  35 

at  my  house,  to  consider  the  subject  of  c erect- 
ing a  new  church  west  of  Broad  Street.'  At 
this  conference,  it  was  urged,  that  our  church 
had  been  overflowing  for  several  years ;  that 
a  new  church  of  our  order  was  imperatively 
needed  in  the  city;  that  without  such  a 
church  we  could  not  maintain  our  proper  re- 
lative position  among  the  evangelical  denomi- 
nations of  the  city,  nor  should  we  be  doing  our 
part  towards  supplying  the  spiritual  wants  of 
the  community ;  that  the  signal  harmony  and 
prosperity  we  had  enjoyed,  demanded  this  re- 
turn at  our  hands,  as  a  token  of  our  gratitude 
to  the  Giver  of  all  good ;  and  that  there  was 
every  reason  to  believe  that  a  strong  colony 
from  our  own  congregation,  uniting  with  other 
families  in  the  neighborhood  which  might  be 
selected,  could,  by  the  favor  of  Providence, 
accomplish  the  desired  end,  without  detriment 
to  existing  churches,  and  with  large  advan- 
tage to  the  general  interests  of  religion.  I 
need  not  rehearse  the  sequel.  The  West 
Spruce  Street  Church  was  erected ;  and  the 
church  itself  was  organized  on  the  3d  of  April, 


06  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

1856.  Great  praise  is  clue  to  the  colony  of 
thirty-four  communicants  and  their  associates, 
which  went  out  from  us  on  that  occasion,  and 
especially  to  those  noble-minded  Christian  men 
by  whose  liberality  and  zeal  this  work  was  ac- 
complished. The  hundred  thousand  dollars 
they  have  6  lent  to  the  Lord/  will  come  back 
to  them  and  their  children  with  large  interest. 
It  is  written  in  the  bond,  'that  which  he  hath 
given,  will  He  pay  him  again.'  And  heaven 
and  earth  shall  pass  away,  before  this  pledge 
can  fail. 

Our  second  colony,  that  of  October  11th, 
has  but  just  left  us.  They  have  gone  to  a  dif- 
ferent field,  but  on  an  errand  consecrated  by 
the  Saviour's  own  example — to  preach  the 
Gospel  to  the  poor.  Difficulties  they  expect 
to  encounter,  but  they  are  not  intimidated. 
They  go,  as  they  believe,  at  the  Master's  call; 
and  this  is  all  the  warrant  they  demand. 
They  have  His  promise,  'fear  not,  for  I  am 
with  thee ;  be  not  dismayed,  for  I  am  thy  God.' 
Putting  their  trust  here,  they  expect  to  sue- 


Quarter  -  Century  Discourse.  87 

ceed.  And  I  believe,  by  God's  blessing,  they 
will  succeed. 

You  have  been  instrumental,  then,  in  found- 
ing two  new  churches.  Of  the  manifold  means 
and  methods  for  doing  good,  none  can  exceed 
this.  For  an  evangelical  church  is  God's  own 
institution.  It  is  permanent.  It  comprehends 
all  other  elements  and  appliances  for  promot- 
ing Christianity.  It  is  a  sun  which  radiates 
light  and  life  in  every  direction ;  a  fountain 
whose  living  waters  will  flow  on  forever. 
You  have  done  a  good  work  in  sending  these 
two  half-tribes  over  Jordan.  Never  forget 
that  they  are  still  part  of  the  household,  and 
as  such,  claim  an  interest  in  your  sympathies 
and  prayers. 

As  a  general  rule,  no  church  can  be  consi- 
dered as  fulfilling  its  design,  which  is  not  en- 
deavoring to  furnish  some  candidates  for  the 
sacred  ministry.  The  neglect  of  this  duty  on 
the  part  of  Christian  parents,  has  been  one  of 
the  prominent  sins  of  the  church  for  the  last 
score  or  two  of  years.  A  better  day  seems 
now  to  be  dawning.     A  throng  of  young  men 

4* 


38  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

have  suddenly  come  forward,  with  the  humble, 
grateful  cry  upon  their  lips,  'Lord,  here  am  I : 
send  me.'  May  it  prove  the  harbinger  of  a 
new  and  blessed  era  for  the  church. 

It  is  pleasant  to  know,  that  our  own  church 
has  not  been  entirely  remiss  in  this  matter. 
Within  the  period  embraced  in  this  review, 
there  have  been  fourteen  young  men  con- 
nected with  the  congregation,  who  have  de- 
voted themselves  to  the  ministry.  Of  these, 
three  came  to  us,  having  this  object  already 
in  view.  Three  who  made  their  profession 
of  religion  here,  relinquished,  perhaps  I  might 
say,  brilliant  prospects  at  the  Bar,  as  several 
gave  up  other  pursuits,  in  order  to  become 
ambassadors  for  Christ.  Two,  who  spent 
a  considerable  time  with  us — one  of  them 
brought  hither  as  a  student  of  medicine,  by 
a  good  Providence,  that  he  might  find  a  Sa- 
viour and  serve  him  in  the  ministry  of  re- 
conciliation— are  held  in  high  esteem  by  the 
Church  as  learned  and  laborious  foreign  mis- 
sionaries ;  to  whose  names,  it  were  ungrateful 
not  to  add  that  °f  an  intelligent  and  lovely 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  89 

Christian  woman,  of  our  communion,  the  wife 
of  one  of  our  leading  missionaries  in  China. 
This  band  of  ministers  are  preaching  the  Gos- 
pel with  ability  and  fidelity,  some  of  them  in 
situations  of  great  influence  and  responsibility. 
To  a  Pastor's  heart,  few  things  could  be  more 
comforting  than  the  reflection,  that  God  may 
have  employed  his  feeble  and  unworthy 
agency  in  raising  up  one  and  another  to  hold 
forth  the  word  of  life  to  the  perishing,  after 
his  own  lips  shall  have  been  sealed  in  death. 
God  grant  that  our  church  may  abound,  as  it 
ought  to  do,  more  and  more  in  this  so  needful 
work.  And  may  his  choicest  blessing  rest 
upon  those  beloved  brethren  who  have  gone 
forth  from  us  to  preach  the  unsearchable 
riches  of  Christ. 

'  May  they  that  Jesus  whom  they  preach, 
Their  own  Redeemer  see ; 
And  watch  Thou  daily  o'er  their  souls, 
That  they  may  watch  for  Thee  ! ' 

I  have  stated,  that  immediately  on  arriving 
in  this  city,  I  found  myself  in  the  presence  of 
that   great  controversy,   which    resulted  live 


40  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

years  afterwards  (1838)  in  a  division  of  our 
Church.  The  theological  questions  involved 
in  this  controversy,  had  agitated  the  country 
for  several  years.  All  New  England  was  con- 
vulsed with  disputations  about  the  '  New 
Haven  divinity.'  And  as  that  theology  had 
crossed  the  border  and  intruded  into  our 
household,  alarm  and  apprehension  followed 
in  its  train.  It  was  not,  as  many  alleged,  a 
mere  war  of  words.  It  took  hold  upon  the 
central  truths  of  the  Gospel,  such  e.  g.  as 
original  sin,  the  atonement,  regeneration,  and 
justification,  together  with  the  whole  subject 
of  moral  agency  and  human  accountability. 
Sentiments  were  propounded  on  these  funda- 
mental topics,  which  contravened  the  plain 
teachings  of  the  Scriptures,  and  which  no  dia- 
lectic skill  could  reconcile  with  the  Confession 
and  Catechisms  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  all 
who  arrayed  themselves  on  the  side  of  the 
c  New  School,'  espoused  these  errors.  When 
the  lines  came  to  be  drawn,  many  were  car- 
ried to  that  side  by  local  and  personal  con- 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  41 

siderations,  who  had  no  sympathy  with  the 
'  New  Divinity ;'  as  others  were,  who  adopted 
it  only  in  some  very  qualified  form.  But  un- 
questionably it  was  a  contest  which  involved 
both  the  purity  of  our  faith,  and  the  integrity 
of  our  ecclesiastical  polity.  Two  incompatible 
systems  of  doctrine,  and  two  no  less  irrecon- 
cilable theories  of  ecclesiastical  authority  and 
policy,  were  struggling  for  the  mastery.  For 
five  years  the  issue  remained  doubtful.  The 
opposing  parties  marshalled  their  forces  annu- 
ally at  the  General  Assembly ;  and  with  vary- 
ing fortunes.  Majorities  vibrated.  In  place 
of  the  harmonious  and  delightful  proceedings 
which  now  mark  the  yearly  convocation  of  our 
Supreme  Judicatory,  it  was  then  an  arena  for 
fierce  debate  and  parliamentary  management. 
The  giants  of  the  church  were  there ;  and 
they  were  not  men  to  play  with  foils. 

Interpreting  the  facts  by  the  light  of  subse- 
quent history,  the  composition  of  the  two 
parties,  viewed  in  the  aggregate,  is  equally 
palpable  and  significant.  Allowing  for  nume- 
rous individual  exceptions,  it  was  virtually  a 


42  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

contest  between  Presbyterianism  and  Congre- 
gationalism ;  or  certainly  between  those  whose 
training  had  made  them  decided  and  earnest 
Presbyterians,  and  others  who  had  adopted 
our  standards  in  a  loose  and  general  way — '  for 
substance  of  doctrine.'  Adhering  in  her  ma- 
turity, to  a  policy  adopted  in  her  youth 
simply  for  missionary  purposes,  our  church 
had  kept  open  the  door  into  her  ministry  so 
wide  and  for  so  long  a  time,  that  some  hun- 
dreds of  her  pulpits  were  filled  by  men  who, 
however  exemplary  in  other  respects,  had  no 
paramount  attachment  either  to  her  faith  or 
her  government.  It  was  in  keeping  with  this 
character,  that  they  should  steadfastly  resist 
all  efforts  of  the  Church  to  foster  her  own 
benevolent  institutions,  as  distinguished  from 
voluntary  societies.  The  Presbyterian  theory 
was,  that  the  Church  should  have  her  own 
Boards  of  Missions  and  Education ;  Boards  of 
her  own  creation,  and  responsible  to  herself; 
that  she  might  superintend  the  training  of 
her  ministers  and  direct  her  missionary  ope- 
rations at   home    and    abroad.     The  counter 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  43 

view  was,  that  all  these  interests  ought  to  be 
conducted  by  existing  Societies  of  a  mixed 
nature,  partly  Presbyterian  and  partly  Con- 
gregational, which,  having  no  ecclesiastical 
character,  were  in  a  great  degree  independent 
of  ecclesiastical  control.  This  question  and 
that  of  doctrine,  constituted  the  two  cardinal 
issues  on  which  the  contest  was  waged.  It  is 
gratifying  to  know  that  after  twenty  years 
further  experience,  our  brethren  of  the  other 
branch  of  the  Church  have  admitted  their 
error.  Their  General  Assembly  has  found  it 
indispensable  to  self-preservation,  to  establish 
Committees  for  conducting  the  work  of  Edu- 
cation and  of  Missions,  on  the  identical  prin- 
ciple of  our  Boards. 

These  facts  involve  no  disparagement  of 
Congregationalism  as  such.  Nor  is  it  de- 
signed to  intimate,  by  this  historical  review, 
that  Congregationalists  ought  not  to  be  wel- 
comed to  our  churches.  Some  of  our  ablest 
and  best  Pastors  have  come  to  us  from  that 
body.  We  have  in  our  communion,  thousands 
of  faithful  Christians  reared  in  Congregational 


44  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

churches.  I  wish  we  might  have  tens  of 
thousands  more.  And  I  would  fain  hope  that 
the  friendly  relations  subsisting  between  most 
of  the  Congregational  bodies  in  New  England, 
and  ourselves,  might  be  perpetuated.  But 
when  it  comes  to  introducing  men  into  the 
ministry  of  our  church  who  have  no  special 
affection  either  for  our  doctrines  or  our  order, 
the  case  is  widely  altered.  Such  an  amalga- 
mation is  inexpedient  for  all  concerned ;  and 
at  the  period  of  which  we  are  speaking,  it 
brought  our  beloved  church  to  the  brink  of  a 
precipice.  A  merciful  Providence  interposed 
and  rescued  it.  The  division  which  ensued, 
was  followed  by  a  law-suit.  For  three  weeks 
the  church  stood  at  Csesar's  bar,  while  the 
momentous  issue  was  pending,  whether  she 
was  responsible  to  the  civil  power  for  ecclesi- 
astical acts  done  by  her  own  proper  tribunals 
and  within  the  scope  of  her  own  charters.  A 
' momentous  issue,'  I  style  it;  because  "it  was 
a  blow  struck  at  the  root  of  the  great  prin- 
ciple of  our  institutions,  viz.,  that  spiritual 
concerns  are  not  to  be  interfered  with  by  the 


Quarter- Century  Discourse.  45 

civil  power."*  It  was  not  our  church  only 
which  was  on  trial,  but  every  church  in  this 
Commonwealth.  And  had  the  verdict  of  the 
jury-j-  been  finally  sustained,  there  would  have 
been  an  end  to  religious  liberty  in  Pennsylva- 
nia. But  the  Judiciary  nobly  vindicated  the 
rights  of  conscience.  After  a  brief  six  weeks, 
the  verdict  was  set  aside  ;t  and  the  whole 
case  adjudicated  on  the  broad  principles  of 
the  Constitution  under  which  it  is  our  happi- 
ness to  live. 

How  signally  that  decision  has  been  ratified 
by  a  beneficent  Providence,  in  the  unparal- 
leled prosperity  of  our  church  from  the  day 
the  case  was  settled  until  now,  it  needs  but  a 
glance  at  our  present  condition  to  perceive. 
But  I  must  not  venture  upon  that  field  now. 
Let  me  return  to  our  own  history. 

I  had  been  no  indifferent  observer  of  the 
rising  contest,  during  my  Seminary-life.  The 
6  New  Divinity'  was  my  special  study.     For 

*  The  late  Hon.  John  Sergeant. 
f  March  26,  1S39. 
t  May  8,  1839. 


46  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

some  years  I  had  listened  to  the  preaching  of 
its  two  great  expounders.  One  of  them  had 
invited  me  to  become  his  theological  pupil. 
I  esteemed  and  honored  them  both.  There 
were  strong  personal  considerations  to  bias 
me  in  favor  of  the  system.  But  when  I  came 
to  examine  it  by  the  law  and  the  testimony, 
I  saw  plainly  that  it  was  less  a  theology  than 
a  philosophy — an  elaborate  web  spun  of  earth- 
born  metaphysics,  not  a  glorious  system  of 
faith  deduced  from  the  incorruptible  word, 
and  suited  to  the  necessities  of  a  race  of 
sinners.  This  conviction,  the  fruit  of  long 
and  patient  investigation,  was  impressed  upon 
my  mind  when  I  came  here.  But  neither 
my  age  nor  my  circumstances  would  have 
justified  me  in  taking  an  early  and  conspicuous 
part,  as  I  was  urged  to  do,  in  the  existing 
controversy.  My  church,  as  already  men- 
tioned, had  been  transferred  to  the  new  Pres- 
bytery. Its  influential  members  were  divided 
among  themselves  on  the  pending  ecclesiastical 
questions.  I  was  the  friend  of  all ;  they  were 
all  my  friends.     They  were  content  to  hear 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  47 

the  Gospel  from  my  lips ;  and  it  was  one  of 
the  earliest  of  my  pulpit-offices  among  them, 
to  preach  an  extended  series  of  carefully  writ- 
ten sermons  on  the  doctrines  of  the  atonement 
and  regeneration,  one  design  of  which  was  to 
discuss  the  erroneous  sentiments  then  prevail- 
ing on  those  subjects.  Had  I  gone  further, 
and  made  myself  a  partisan,  or  prematurely 
proposed  a  change  in  the  ecclesiastical  rela- 
tions of  the  church,  the  congregation  must 
have  been  rent  in  twain.  As  it  was,  we  re- 
mained where  we  were  until  the  Second  Pres- 
bytery was  dissolved  by  the  General  Assembly 
(1837)  and  then,  church  and  pastor  applied  to, 
and  were  received  by,  the  Presbytery  of  Phila- 
delphia. At  the  meeting  of  the  church  held 
to  decide  upon  this  matter,  there  were  some 
votes  against  the  change ;  and  a  few  excellent 
and  useful  men  withdrew  their  certificates  and 
united  with  other  churches.  But  neither  then, 
nor  at  any  other  time,  were  the  harmony  and 
tranquillity  of  the  congregation  seriously  dis- 
turbed. When  it  is  remembered,  that  our  city 
was  the  theatre  where  the  two  great  parties 


48  Quarter  -  Century  Discourse. 

had  their  annual  conflict,  and  that  we  were 
living  in  an  atmosphere  surcharged  with  the 
elements  of  strife,  this  result  can  be  referred 
only  to  the  special  goodness  of  Gocl  towards  us. 
It  deserves  this  day  our  tribute  of  gratitude. 

If  it  be  asked,  why  I  have  introduced  this 
sketch  into  my  discourse,  I  answer,  because  it 
is  the  most  important  ecclesiastical  transaction 
which  has  occurred  here  during  my  ministry; 
and  it  could  not  have  been  passed  over  with 
any  propriety.  I  have  no  desire  to  re-open 
the  questions  then  settled ;  still  less,  to  revive 
any  personal  antipathies  or  prejudices.  I  do 
not  know  of  a  single  minister  in  our  Presby- 
tery, who  cherishes  the  slightest  feeling  of 
unkindness  towards  his  brethren  in  the  other 
branch  of  the  church.  I  never  hear  them 
mentioned  except  in  terms  of  respect  and 
courtesy,  and  with  satisfaction  at  the  success 
with  which  God  may  be  crowning  their  labors. 
The  controversy  is  hardly  ever  alluded  to  in 
our  clerical  intercourse.  It  belongs  now  to 
history ;  and  there  we  are  content  to  leave  it. 
The  land  is  broad  enough  for  the  two  Churches 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  49 

to  pursue  their  respective  plans  without  col- 
lision or  jealousy.  And  the  only  rivalry  be- 
tween them  should  be,  which  shall  do  most 
for  the  salvation  of  men,  and  the  glory  of 
their  common  Redeemer. 

One  controversy  suggests  another.  This 
also  belongs  to  the  record  of  the  past  quarter 
century;  and  as  Providence  was  pleased  to 
assign  me  some  very  humble  part  in  it,  I  may 
be  allowed  briefly  to  speak  of  it. 

I  fear  no  challenge,  when  I  claim  it  as  one 
of  the  honorable  characteristics  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  that  however  aggressive  it  may 
be  in  its  demonstrations  against  worldliness 
and  sin,  and  against  false  religions  of  what- 
ever name  or  creed,  its  spirit  is  eminently 
peaceful  and  fraternal  towards  all  evangelical 
denominations.  It  is  no  part  of  the  ordinary 
routine  of  our  Pastors  to  preach  against  or 
about  other  churches.  Their  peculiarities  are 
rarely  mentioned,  unless  it  be  in  a  didactic 
form,  by  way  of  explaining  some  doctrine  or 
rite  of  our  own.  Our  readiness  in  co-operat- 
ing with  them  for  objects  of  common  interest, 

5* 


5 0  Qua rter -  Cen tury  D iscourse. 

may  be  seen  of  all  men.  And  we  cordially 
bid  them  God-speed,  in  all  legitimate  and 
scriptural  efforts  to  promote  the  cause  of 
Christ. 

But  if  we  are  slow  to  attack,  we  know 
how  to  defend.  Dwelling  among  our  own 
people,  and  begirt  with  munitions  of  rocks 
reared  by  no  mortal  hand,  we  cannot  allow 
our  peaceful  heritage  to  be  invaded,  with- 
out resenting  and  resisting  it.  It  was  so  in- 
vaded at  the  period  to  which  I  refer — some 
fifteen  or  sixteen  years  ago.  The  Oxford- 
Tract  movement  vivified  the  dormant  elements 
of  ecclesiastical  pride  and  intolerance  in  the 
Church  of  England;  and  the  controversy  thus 
originated,  soon  embroiled  the  Protestant  de- 
nominations generally  in  Great  Britain  and 
America.  The  pretensions  put  forth  by  the 
sponsors  of  this  movement,  were  monstrous. 
They  reached  to  the  extreme  of  parcelling  off 
the  entire  Christian  Church,  among  the  Epis- 
copal, the  Papal,  and  the  corrupt  Oriental 
Hierarchies.  Outside  of  these  limits,  there 
was  no   church,   no   ministry,  no  valid   ordi- 


Quarter  -  Century  Discourse.  51 

nances.  The  ministers  of  other  denomina- 
tions were  unauthorized  intruders  into  the 
sacred  office,  and  their  churches  were  schis- 
matical  organizations. 

These  sentiments  were  not  breathed  in  a 
corner.  They  were  proclaimed  from  the 
pulpit.  They  were  sent  forth  from  the  press 
in  every  imaginable  form,  from  the  stately 
and  learned  octavo  to  the  sentimental  novel. 
They  were  scattered  broadcast  over  the  land. 
With  proselyting  officiousness,  they  were 
thrust,  in  private  life,  upon  the  members  of 
other  churches,  who,  not  unfrequently,  came 
to  their  pastors  in  perplexity  of  mind,  as 
members  of  my  church  did  to  me,  to  seek 
counsel  and  instruction. 

No  alternative  was  left  us.  However 
averse  to  controversy,  it  was  the  most  ob- 
vious of  all  duties,  to  repel  these  attacks,  and 
protect  our  people  in  the  enjoyment  of  their 
hereditary  rights  and  franchises.  The  ground 
which  we  stood  upon,  we  occupied  in  common 
with  nearly  all  the  churches  of  the  Reforma- 
tion.    Indeed,  at  the  Reformation,  every  Pro- 


52  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

test  ant  church  rejected  the  jure  divino  doctrine 
of  Prelacy ;  the  English  Church  adopted  that 
polity  on  grounds  very  different  from  those 
assumed  by  so  many  of  its  clergy  in  later 
times.  To  this  clay,  Diocesan  Episcopacy 
probably  does  not  embrace  among  its  sup- 
porters one-fifteenth  jpart  of  the  population  of 
Protestant  Christendom.  That  any  portion 
of  the  Church  should  prefer  and  adopt  it,  as 
the  most  expedient  and  suitable  system  for 
themselves,  is  all  well.  No  one  will  complain 
of  this.  We,  certainly,  who  are  of  the  great 
family  of  the  Eeformed  Churches,  can  have 
no  quarrel  with  them  for  building  their  walls 
on  a  pattern  different  from  ours.  Nor  do  we 
readily  see  why  they  should  have  any  quarrel 
with  us.  We  believe  that  their  covenant  God 
and  ours  is  the  same;  that  the  same  Re- 
deemer died  for  us;  that  the  same  Divine 
Spirit  dwells  in  both  Churches;  and  that  we 
are  all  travelling  to  the  same  heaven.  We 
see  in  their  communion  many  of  God's  clear 
children  whose  piety  and  zeal  would  be  an 
ornament  to  any  church.      We    honor  their 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  53 

church  for  all  that  God  has  clone  through  its 
instrumentality  in  behalf  of  the  common  sal- 
vation. We  know  no  reason  why  there  should 
not  be  perpetual  amity  and  fellowship  between 
us.  And  this,  we  are  persuaded,  is  the  senti- 
ment of  growing  numbers  in  their  own  ranks, 
who  revolt  at  the  idea  of  their  tribe,  one  of 
the  least  of  the  thousands  of  Judah,  severing 
itself  from  the  communion  of  the  great  body 
of  God's  Israel. 

But,  unhappily,  at  the  period  just  indicated, 
an  arrogant  and  denunciatory  spirit  ran  riot 
for  a  time  through  their  body;  and  as  it  pro- 
scribed all  other  Churches,  a  general  conflict 
was  unavoidable.  In  common  with  other 
Pastors  in  our  Church,  I  felt  it  my  duty  to 
deliver  and  publish  a  course  of  Lectures,  ex- 
posing the  unscriptural  nature  of  these  pre- 
tensions, and  warning  you  against  the  devices 
employed  to  seduce  you  from  your  ancient 
faith.  With  the  final  results  of  the  contest 
we  are  content. 

This  controversy,  also,  has  now  passed  into 
the  province  of  the  historian.     Let  us  hope 


54  Quarter  -  Century  Discourse. 

that  a  fresh  baptism  of  the  Spirit  may  avert 
similar  calamities,  and  draw  closer  than  ever 
the  bonds  which  should  unite  all,  of  whatever 
name,  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  It 
will  be  time  enough  for  the  Churches  to  war 
with  each  other,  when  they  can  find  no  more 
enemies  of  their  common  Master  to  turn  their 
arms  against. 

I  came  to  you,  as  I  have  related,  direct 
from  the  Seminary.  That  twenty-five  years 
should  have  passed,  since  that  eventful  even- 
ing, sounds  to  me  like  a  fable  or  a  dream.  It 
is  only  when  I  cast  my  eyes  around  me,  that 
I  can  realize  it.  An  unusual  thing  it  is — too 
unusual — for  a  Pastor  to  spend  a  quarter 
of  a  century  with  the  same  congregation.  In 
my  own  case,  it  is  the  more  remarkable  be- 
cause of  the  precarious  health  which  has  so 
often  interrupted  my  labors.  The  foundation 
of  this  was  laid  in  a  severe  attack  of  sickness 
contracted  on  a  necessary  visit  to  the  North, 
only  two  weeks  after  my  installation.  It  has 
repeatedly  led  to  a  suspension  of  my  minis- 
trations for  several  weeks  or  months  together; 


Quarter -  Century  Discourse.  55 

and  in  1847,  under  imperative  medical  advice, 
I  was  obliged  to  spend  a  year  in  Europe.  I 
felt  that  it  was  clue  to  my  congregation,  be- 
fore going  abroad,  to  place  my  resignation  in 
their  hands.  I  can  never  forget  the  kindness 
with  which  you  returned  it  to  me,  and  the 
generous  sympathy  you  expressed  in  my  trial. 
If  I  should  say,  that  various  opportunities 
of  a  different  kind,  have  been  thrown  in  my 
way  for  terminating  this  relation,  I  should 
only  relate  a  common  experience  among  Pas- 
tors. Few  men,  I  suppose,  spend  twenty- 
five  years  in  the  ministry,  without  being  more 
or  less  approached  with  invitations  to  change 
their  place  of  residence.  Among  the  sugges- 
tions of  this  sort  which  have  reached  me, 
there  have  been  some  of  a  very  attractive 
character;  and  one*  which  came  to  me  so 
clothed  with  the  authority  of  the  Church,  and 
so  enforced   by  private   solicitation,  that  the 

*  The  appointment  of  the  author  by  the  General  Assemhly 
of  1853,  to  the  chair  of  Pastoral  Theology  in  the  Theological 
Seminary  at  Princeton,  vacated  by  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Alexander. 


5  6  Quarter  -  Centu  ry  Discourse. 

disposition  of  it  became  the  most  jDerplexing 
and  painful  question  I  have  ever  had  to  deal 
with.  The  occasion  is  too  recent  to  require 
that  I  should  do  more  than  advert  to  it  in 
this  passing  way.  Let  it  suffice  to  state,  that 
vour  own  earnest  and  affectionate  remon- 
strances,  seconded  by  a  formal  appeal  on  the 
part  of  the  leading  members  of  the  Bar,  the 
Schools  of  Medicine,  the  men  of  science,  and 
the  chief  merchants  of  our  city  (the  most  re- 
markable incident,  so  I  regard  it,  of  my  whole 
public  life),  forbade  me  to  leave  you.  I  have 
seen  no  cause  to  regret  my  decision.  I  may  not 
speak  with  confidence  about  my  charge  here; 
but,  in  all  frankness,  I  believe  that  the  result 
has  been  highly  advantageous  to  the  Princeton 
Seminary,  and  to  our  Church  at  large. 

There  are  some  considerations  pertaining  to 
the  responsibilities  and  duties  of  a  pastorate 
in  a  great  city,  and  particularly  in  our  own 
city,  as  distinguished  from  a  congregation  in 
the  country,  or  in  a  small  town,  which  natur- 
ally occur  to  the  mind  at  a  season  like  this, 
and  it  may  be  allowable  to  devote  a  few  words 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  57 

to  them.  I  refer,  in  general,  to  the  wide 
sphere  of  labor  which  a  minister  in  this  posi- 
tion is  expected  to  fill;  and  the  variety  of 
objects  which  invite  or  demand  his  attention. 
Even  as  regards  the  composition  of  his  own 
congregation,  there  may  be  peculiarities  which 
have  an  important  bearing  upon  his  ministra- 
tions. His  people  are  a  constituent  part  of 
that  concourse  of  human  beings,  who  go  to 
make  every  large  city  a  centre  of  mighty  in- 
fluence; and  there  may  be  among  them  some 
who  have  much  to  do  in  determining  whether 
that  influence  shall  be  for  good  or  for  evil. 
Again,  he  preaches  to  numerous  strangers. 
There  must  be  some  thousands  of  visitors  and 
travellers  in  such  a  city  every  Sabbath,  a 
large  proportion  of  whom  find  their  way  to 
the  sanctuary.  In  this  way,  a  Pastor  is  con- 
stantly casting  bread  upon  the  waters.  They 
stop  long  enough  to  hear  a  single  sermon  from 
his  lips,  and  are  gone  on  the  morrow;  but 
who  shall  sa}T  what  untold  treasures  they 
may  not  have  taken  with  them?  Not  only 
so,  but  he  may  have  within  the  sound  of  his 


58  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

voice  a  different  class  of  strangers;  not  tran- 
sient wayfarers,  but  temporary  residents.  I 
refer,  as  you  may  suppose,  to  those  admirable 
schools,  academical  and  professional,  which 
every  season  attract  such  large  numbers  of 
youth  to  our  city — (for  it  is  of  our  own  city, 
I  prefer  to  speak).  I  have  always  regarded 
the  Female  Boarding-Schools  connected  with 
my  congregation,  as  one  of  its  most  interest- 
ing and  encouraging  features.  I  have  looked 
to  them  with  some  confidence,  to  see  the  fruit 
of  our  Sabbath  services;  and,  by  God's  bless- 
ing, I  have  not  looked  in  vain.  They  have 
shared,  I  think,  in  every  revival  we  have  en- 
joyed. And  sometimes  the  dew  has  come 
gently  down  upon  those  fleeces,  when  the 
ground  all  around  has  remained  dry.  It  is, 
let  me  add,  one  of  the  real  pleasures  of  my 
occasional  summer  tours  through  the  country, 
to  meet  with  those — now,  perhaps,  happy 
wives  and  mothers — who  hail  me  with  true 
affection  as  a  Pastor,  and  take  me  back  to 
their  school-days  in  Philadelphia. 

And  then,  these  Schools  of  Medicine.    Here 


Quarter  -  Century  Discourse.  59 

are  one  or  two  thousand  of  young  men  pur- 
suing their  studies  in  our  city  for  six  months 
of  the  year.  They  are  from  every  part  of  the 
Union.  Their  future  influence,  social  and 
professional,  must  depend  largely,  under  Pro- 
vidence, upon  the  training  they  receive  here. 
It  is  no  trivial  responsibility  to  be  concerned, 
even  so  far  as  their  occasional  attendance  upon 
one's  ministrations  may  go,  in  giving  direction 
to  a  swelling  tide  of  influence  like  this.  That 
the  agency  of  the  pulpit  is  not  always  lost 
upon  them,  may  be  illustrated  by  the  fact, 
that  in  two  instances  known  to  me,  young 
men  who  came  here  to  study  medicine,  were 
led  in  this  house  to  exchange  that  profession 
for  the  ministry,  and  are  now,  one  of  them,  as 
already  noted,  an  accomplished  and  eminent 
foreign  missionary,  the  other,  an  active  and 
useful  Pastor  in  one  of  our  principal  cities. — 
Why  should  we  not  expect  beneficent  changes 
like  these  to  occur  frequently  ?  There  must 
be  many  pious  young  men  in  these  medical 
classes,  who  have  never  even  examined  the 
question,  whether  it  mny  not  be  their  duty  to 


60  Quarter- Century  Discourse. 

enter  the  ministry.  And  how  many  are  there 
who,  if  converted,  might  become  burning  and 
shining  lights  in  the  church  ! 

But  it  is  not  only  in  the  pulpit  that  we  have 
to  do  with  strangers.  Besides  the  ordinary 
claims  of  hospitality  which  visitors  expect  at 
the  hands  of  the  resident  Pastors,  and  which 
it  is  our  pleasure  to  recognize,  the  medical 
reputation  of  our  city  makes  it  the  Mecca  of 
invalids.  A  very  large  number  of  these  have 
been  under  my  pastoral  care,  frequently  for 
months  together.  My  visits  of  this  kind  could 
be  reckoned  only  by  hundreds,  perhaps  by 
thousands.  And  I  would  not  have  had  it 
otherwise.  For  what  could  I  do,  should  I 
hear  at  last  those  piercing  words,  'I  was  a 
stranger,  and  ye  took  me  not  in:  I  was  sick, 
and  ye  visited  me  not.'  Far  from  their 
homes,  oppressed  with  disease,  possibly  draw- 
ing near  to  death,  who  would  not  deem  it  a 
privilege  to  go  to  these  sufferers  and,  if  so  it 
might  be,  alleviate  their  sorrows  and  soothe 
their  anxieties,  by  pointing  them  to  the  Lamb 
of  God  ?     There  are  no  chapters  in  my  expe- 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  61 

rience  as  a  minister,  more  affecting  than  some 
which  relate  to  this  subject.  I  could  describe 
to  you  scenes  of  anguish  which  would  move 
you  all  to  tears ;  and  scenes  of  rapture  which 
would  thrill  you  with  holy  and  grateful  joy. 
But  I  must  not  detain  you  with  such  incidents. 
I  refer  to  these  things,  to  illustrate  the  cares 
and  responsibilities  of  a  Pastor  in  a  great  city. 
But  what  you  have  heard  is  only  the  begin- 
ning. If  you  would  know  the  whole,  you 
must  not  only  be  familiar  with  his  entire  con- 
gregation, but  you  must  understand  his  rela- 
tions with  the  benevolent  institutions  of  his 
own  church ;  the  time  he  is  expected  to  devote 
to  the  interests  of  education,  and  to  the  mani- 
fold metropolitan  charities  which  need  and 
deserve  the  countenance  of  the  clergy;  the 
endless  interviews  with  the  authors  or  agents 
of  all  sorts  of  good  objects  in  each  one  of  our 
thirty  or  forty  States  and  Territories ;  and  the 
mosaic-like  correspondence  he  carries  on  with 
all  manner  of  people  from  January  to  Decem- 
ber. The  sum  of  the  whole,  is,  that  if  a  Pas- 
tor fulfil,  eyen  in   any  tolerable  degree,  the 

6* 


62  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

ends  of  his  ministry,  he  cannot  lead  a  very 
idle  life.  And,  again,  it  should  excite  no  sur- 
prise that  so  many  Pastors  break  down  under 
these  accumulated  labors,  —  labors  which  in 
the  principal  churches  of  the  European  capi- 
tals are  always  divided  among  two  or  three 
ministers.  The  Protestant  Episcopal  Church 
in  our  country,  is  gradually  adopting  the  same 
system  :  there  are  probably  some  present  who 
will  live  to  see  it  extensively  introduced  into 
our  own  communion. 

There  is  another  view  of  a  pastorate  in  one 
of  these  great  cities,  to  which  my  long  resi- 
dence here  may  justify  me  in  adverting.  In 
their  social  structure,  they  differ  essentially 
from  all  other  communities.  They  are  the 
centres,  not  simply  of  trade,  and  of  politics, 
but  of  talent,  of  learning,  of  art,  of  eloquence. 
The  liberal  professions  are  there  in  their  strong- 
est array.  They  attract  to  themselves  genius 
and  enterprise  of  every  type,  and  from  every 
quarter.  They  are  the  seat  of  that  great 
power  in  a  free  State,  the  press;  the  theatre 
of  hooks  and  reviews,  and  of  daily  journalism, 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  63 

the  pabulum  of  the  masses.  Everything  is 
canvassed — politics,  commerce,  philosophy,  re- 
ligion— the  huge  alembic  is  forever  seething 
and  surging.  Intense  intellectual  activity  is 
the  law  of  that  miniature  world.  And  within 
the  last  quarter  of  a  century,  several  new 
agencies  have  come  into  play,  which  have  im- 
pressed upon  the  whole  mass  a  greatly  in- 
creased momentum. 

Among  these  may  be  specified  certain  radi- 
cal events  in  our  political  progress  (it  cannot 
be  necessary  to  name  them),  which  have  con- 
spired to  develop  more  fully  the  inherent  vigor 
and  restlessness  of  our  national  character. 
Again,  science  has  been  popularized,  to  an  ex- 
tent unthought  of  at  any  former  era.  Nor  can 
we  overlook,  in  this  connection,  the  founding 
of  that  new  social  institution,  which  promises 
to  incorporate  itself  with  our  metropolitan  life, 
I  mean,  Popular  Lectures.  This  has  grown,  in 
part,  out  of  a  general  craving  for  some  species 
of  entertainment  more  rational,  and  of  better 
moral  tendency,  than  dramatic  performances. 
The  indications   are,  that  we  are  to  have  a 


6-i  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

body  of  Lecturers  as  a  distinct  and  permanent 
Profession.  What  the  ultimate  effect  of  such 
an  institution  will  be,  we  have  not  as  yet  the 
requisite  data  for  determining.  With  our 
limited  experience,  however,  it  is  quite  appa- 
rent that  it  will  combine  the  good  and  the  bad, 
like  most  other  human  contrivances.  It  is  at 
least  certain,  that  the  business  will  be  largely 
taken  up  by  men  of  showy  parts  and  facile 
elocution,  the  sponsors,  often,  of  grave  errors 
in  religion  or  in  morals.  Orators  of  this  de- 
scription will  find  ready  employment  at  the 
hands  of  men  who  get  up  courses  of  Lectures 
for  private  gain,  and  who  are  indifferent  to 
every  question  but  that  of  the  profits.  To 
them,  it  is  all  one  whether  their  rhetoricians 
declaim  truth  or  error,  deism  or  pantheism, 
Paul  or  Spinoza.  They  would  as  soon  seed 
the  ground  with  thistles,  as  with  wheat;  or 
have  the  fountain  they  open  at  the  very  heart 
of  a  great  city,  send  forth  hemlock,  as  living 
water.  Like  the  British  opium-dealers  in 
China,  their  aims  are  purely  mercenary;  and 


Quarter  Century  Discourse.  63 

so  they  make  money,  it  is  no  concern  of  theirs 
who  are  poisoned,  and  who  not. 

That  professional  Lecturers  generally  have 
been,  or  are  likely  to  be,  of  this  description,  is 
not  asserted.  The  class  already  comprises  men 
of  eminent  worth,  who  never  gain  the  public 
ear,  without  pouring  into  it  something  adapted 
to  make  people  wiser  and  better;  and  we  may 
hope  that  such  teachers  will  be  multiplied. 
But  we  have  seen  enough  to  know  that  the 
system  is  susceptible  of  ready  abuse,  and  may 
be  perverted  to  the  very  worst  ends.  In  either 
case,  whether  well  or  badly  managed  in  a 
moral  view,  it  is  exerting  a  powerful  influence 
upon  the  social  life  of  these  cities,  and  must 
not  be  omitted  in  forming  an  estimate  of  the 
present  position  of  the  pulpit. 

The  idea  I  wish  to  present,  on  this  head,  as 
deduced  from  our  very  cursory  survey  of  the 
field,  is,  that  the  demands  upon  the  metropoli- 
tan pulpit  have  been  gradually  rising  during 
the  last  twenty-five  years,  and  that  it  needs  to 
gird  itself  with  fresh  strength,  if  it  would  con- 
tinue to  command  the   homage  of  the  culti- 


66  Quarter  •Century  Discourse. 

vated  mind  of  the  country.  In  saying  this, 
I  am  far  from  recommending  that  the  sacred 
desk  should  be  degraded  to  an  arena  for  intel- 
lectual gladiatorship.  I  do  not  forget  that  the 
Christian  ministry  is  a  divine  institution,  with 
its  appointed  sphere  which  it  may  not  tran- 
scend, and  its  prescribed  themes  which  it  may 
not  neglect,  but  at  its  peril.  Nor  can  I  ques- 
tion that  this  institution,  so  ordained  and 
equipped  of  God,  as  his  chosen  instrumentality 
for  reforming  and  saving  the  wTorld,  is  equal 
even  to  the  herculean  task  demanded  of  it 
here;  that,  by  God's  blessing,  it  can  so  re- 
strain, ameliorate,  and  control,  all  these  tu- 
multuous forces  of  which  we  have  been  speak- 
ing, as  to  work  out  not  merely  the  well-being 
of  society,  but  the  spiritual  elevation  and 
eternal  well-being  of  the  individuals  who  com- 
pose one  of  these  mighty  Babels.  But  the 
point  of  the  argument  is  this.  The  preaching 
of  the  cross  follows  the  law  of  all  other  in- 
struments; to  effect  its  end,  it  must  be  used 
according  to  the  design  of  its  Author.  It  is 
not  in  the  nature  of  things,  that  the  pulpit 


Quarter  -  Century  Discourse.  67 

should  maintain  its  hold  upon  this  complex, 
impatient,  excited  mass  of  human  beings,  at 
least  upon  the  educated  portion  of  them,  un- 
less it  bring  to  its  vocation  competent  intellec- 
tual vigor  and  various  knowledge,  as  well  as 
genuine  moral  excellence.  It  must  keep 
abreast  of  the  other  learned  Professions  in 
ability,  and  general  culture.  It  must  be  able 
to  present  the  high  themes  of  revelation  in  a 
manner  adapted  to  win  the  respect  of  a  com- 
munity so  constituted,  and  that,  too,  without 
compromising  the  Gospel  in  a  single  point  of 
doctrine,  or  abating  one  jot  or  tittle  of  its  lofty 
requisitions. 

Here,  then,  is  work  for  the  ministry,  which 
will  demand  the  utmost  exertion  of  their  pow- 
ers. It  is  not  to  be  compassed,  without  patient 
study,  and  persevering  toil.  They  must  "give 
attendance  to  reading,  to  exhortation,  to  doc- 
trine;" and  "study  to  show  themselves  ap- 
proved unto  God,  workmen  that  need  not  be 
ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  truth." 
However  important  it  may  be  to  keep  up  a 
familiar  personal  intercourse  with  their  con- 


68  Quarter  -  Century  Discourse. 

gregations,  it  will  not  do  to  allow  this,  except 
in  cases  of  sickness  and  affliction,  to  take  pre- 
cedence of  their  public  ministrations.  No 
intelligent  congregation  can  be  permanently 
satisfied  with  pastoral  visiting  as  a  substitute 
for  instructive  preaching.  They  may  tolerate 
it  for  a  while;  but  by  and  by  they  will  begin 
to  bemoan  the  penury  of  the  pulpit,  and  to 
inquire  whether  it  was  a  purely  Levitical  ordi- 
nance, that  "the  priest's  lips  should  keep 
knowledge."  Exhausting  work  it  is,  which 
they  ask  of  their  Pastor — far  more  so  than 
incessant  visiting — but  they  will  feel,  and  they 
ought  to  feel  that,  instead  of  consuming  his 
time  and  strength  in  visiting  a  few  families, 
week  by  week,  his  'prime  duty  is,  to  prepare 
"beaten  oil"  for  the  sanctuary,  which  may 
irradiate  and  cheer  his  entire  flock ;  and,  this 
being  accomplished,  to  see  all  he  can  of  them 
at  their  houses. 

But  this  is  an  incidental  suggestion.  The 
main  idea  to  be  enforced,  is,  that  the  sphere 
of  pastoral  labor  in  these  cities  is  constantly 
expanding;  that  it  demands,  and  will  reward, 


Quarter •  Century  Discourse.  69 

the  noblest  energies,  and  the  most  self-denying 
efforts  of  any  man  whom  Providence  may 
appoint  to  the  work;  and  that,  when  every- 
thing is  done  which  such  a  man  can  do,  no- 
thing is  accomplished,  except  as  God  may 
bless  his  poor  instrumentality. 

Not  to  pursue  this  topic  farther  than  may 
barely  suffice  to  lift  the  curtain  for  a  moment 
upon  the  relations  and  responsibilities  of  a 
Pastor  established  in  one  of  these  marts  of 
empire,  let  us  cast  an  eye  beyond  our  own 
enclosure.  The  changes  described  as  having 
occurred  among  ourselves,  have  their  counter- 
part in  the  records  of  our  own  sister-churches 
in  this  city,  and,  indeed,  in  the  history  of  the 
various  denominations  here,  for  the  past  twen- 
ty-five years.  I  find  myself  at  the  close  of 
this  period,  among  the  senior  Pastors  of  the 
city. 

When  I  came  here  to  reside,  the  Rev  Mr. 
Barnes  had  already  been  settled  as  the  Pastor 
of  the  First  Church,  for  three  years,  and  the 
Rev.  George  Chandler  as  Pastor  of  the  First 


70  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

Church  in  Kensington,  for  a  still  longer  period. 
The  Second  Church  was  vacant,  but,  a  few 
months  after,  called  the  Rev.  Dr.  Cuyler  to  its 
pulpit.  Dr.  Ely  was  Pastor  of  the  Third 
Church;  Mr.  Potts,  of  the  Fourth;  Dr.  Win- 
chester, of  the  Sixth;  Dr.  Engles,  of  the  Se- 
venth; Mr.  McCalla,  of  the  Eighth;  Mr.  Gib- 
son, of  the  Ninth;  Mr.  Grant,  of  the  Eleventh; 
Mr.  Eustace,  of  the  Twelfth;  Mr.  Patterson, 
of  the  First  Church,  Northern  Liberties;  Mr. 
Judson,  of  the  First  Church,  Southwark,  and 
Mr.  Symmes,  of  the  Fairmount  Church.  Dr. 
McDowell  had  been  settled  the  year  before,  as 
the  first  Pastor  of  the  Central  Church.  The 
First  Church,  Penn-Township ;  the  Second 
Church,  Southwark;  and  the  Second  Church, 
Kensington,  were  vacant.  Dr.  Skinner,  hav- 
ing resigned  the  charge  of  the  Fifth  Church 
(now  Dr.  Wadsworth's),  to  go  to  Andover,  that 
church  was  vacant,  and  so  remained  for  seve- 
ral years.  A  secession  from  it  subsequently 
organized  the  Clinton  Street  Congregational 
Church,  and  invited  Dr.  Todd  to  become  their 
Pastor.    After  spending  some  years  with  them, 


Quarter  -  Century  Discourse.  71 

Dr.  Todd  returned  to  New  England,  and  they 
were  reorganized  as  a  Presbyterian  Church. 

It  will  be  seen,  that  of  the  fourteen  Presby- 
terian Pastors  I  found  here,  only  three  remain 
in  the  city.  With  these  may  be  associated 
the  laborious  and  efficient  Pastor  of  the  Inde- 
pendent Church  on  Broad  Street.  Several  of 
the  churches  have  changed  their  Pastors  three 
and  four  times.  The  mortality  among  our 
ministers  has  been  of  a  character  to  excite 
very  solemn  and  tender  reflections.  Of  those 
who  have  resided  here,  whether  as  Pastors  or 
otherwise,  for  a  term  of  years  since  '33,  I 
can  recall  no  less  than  twenty-four  who  have 
died — some  few  of  them  after  removing  from 
the  city.  You  will  be  interested  in  hearing 
this  list  from  the  necrology  of  the  church.  It 
is  as  follows: — 

The  venerable  Mr.  Potts,  Mr.  Judson,  Mr. 
Scott,  Mr.  Dinwiddie,  Mr.  Blythe,  Mr.  Eus- 
tace, Mr.  Patterson,  Mr.  Lough  ridge,  Mr.  Wil- 
liamson, Dr.  Winchester,  Mr.  Stewart,  Mr. 
Harned,  Mr.  Hoge,  Mr.  Douglas,  Dr.  John 
Breckinridge,  Dr.  Green,  Dr.  Cuyler,  Dr.  Wm. 


72  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

A.  McDowell,  Mr.  Manwaring,  Dr.  Carroll, 
Mr.  Connell,  Mr.  Dickinson,  Mr.  Rood,  and 
Mr.  Ramsey.  Of  these  twenty-four,  seventeen 
were  or  had  been  Pastors  in  this  city. 

I  know  of  no  Baptist  minister  who  has  been 
here  for  twenty-five  years.  Most  of  their 
pulpits  have  been  vacant  and  re-filled  several 
times.  The  same  is  true  of  the  Protestant 
Episcopal  Church.  Several  of  their  older  con- 
gregations have  had  two,  three,  and  even  four 
Rectors  since  1833.  Among  the  ministers  of 
that  church  who  have  passed  away,  may  be 
mentioned  the  venerable  Bishop  White,  Mr. 
James,  Dr.  Bedell,  Dr.  Abercrombie,  Dr.  Mont- 
gomery, Dr.  Clark,  Dr.  Boyd,  Mr.  Fowles,  and 
Mr.  Tyng.  To  these  may  be  added  Dr.  Living- 
ston, and  his  late  excellent  son,  and  Dr.  Lud- 
low, all  of  the  Reformed  Dutch  Church ;  that 
eminent  divine  and  scholar,  Dr.  Wylie,  of  the 
Reformed  Presbyterian  Church;  Mr.  Bowers, 
of  the  Associated  Reformed;  and  the  vener- 
able Dr.  Mayer,  of  the  Lutheran  Church. 

It  were  well  to  pause  and  ponder  this  re- 
cord.    To  a  Pastor,  it  is  full  of  solemn  mean- 


Quarter- Century  Discourse.  73 

ing.  I  would  fain  have  my  own  heart  opened 
to  its  monitory  teachings ;  as  I  would  gladly 
linger,  also,  to  pay  a  tribute  of  respect  and 
sympathy  to  the  memories  of  these  excellent 
men.  But  the  time  forbids  this :  and  I  pass 
on  to  notice  changes  of  a  different  character. 

In  1833,  there  were  twenty  churches  here 
in  connection  with  the  General  Assembly. 
Now  there  are  twenty-seven  belonging  to  our 
branch  of  the  Church,  and  fifteen  to  the  other, 
making  a  total  of  forty-two.  In  the  year 
1838,  after  the  separation  took  place,  there 
were  in  our  churches  (0.  S.)  about  two  thou- 
sand seven  hundred  communicants.  Now,  we 
number  about  eight  thousand;  the  number 
having  trebled  in  twenty  years. 

Regarded  in  itself,  this  is  a  very  gratifying 
increase  both  as  to  churches  and  communi- 
cants. But  the  population  of  the  city  has 
advanced  from  one  hundred  and  sixty-one 
thousand  in  1830,  to,  say,  four  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  (city  and  liberties,  not  including 
the  county)  in  1858.     In  other  words,  there 

7* 


74  Quarter  -  Century  Discourse. 

are  nearly  three  hundred  thousand  more  peo- 
ple here  to  be  supplied  with  the  means  of 
grace,  than  there  were  twenty-eight  years  ago. 
In  any  other  country,  this  would  sound  more 
like  romance  than  history.  Here  it  is  sober 
verity.  And  while,  in  one  view,  we  may 
congratulate  ourselves  at  what  we  have  ac- 
complished ;  in  another,  we  have  cause  to  feel 
humbled,  that  we  have  done  so  little  towards 
bringing  the  ordinances  of  the  Gospel  within 
the  reach  of  this  vast  population.  Let  us 
work  while  the  day  lasts :  the  night  cometh 
in  which  no  man  can  work. 

If  the  time  allowed,  it  would  be  interesting 
to  glance  at  the  extraordinary  progress  of  our 
Church  at  large  since  1833,  and  to  spread 
before  you  the  statistics  of  our  various  Boards. 
But  I  must  content  myself  with  the  following 
summary.  The  figures  in  the  first  column 
present  the  state  of  the  whole  Church,  five 
years  before  the  separation.  Those  in  the 
second,  are  the  statistics  of  our  own  branch  of 
the  Church  for  the  current  year. 


Quarter  -  Century  Discourse.  75 

1833.  1858. 

Ministers 1,855  2,320 

Churches 2,500  3,146 

Communicants     .     ".     .   233,580  233,755 

Synods 22  33 

Presbyteries    ....          Ill  159 

Adding  to  these  the  statistics  of  the  other 
branch  of  the  Church,  the  total  will  be,  Minis- 
ters, three  thousand  nine  hundred  and  thirty- 
two;  Churches,  four  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  thirty-three ;  Communicants,  three  hun- 
dred and  seventy-seven  thousand  two  hundred 
and  sixty-five. 

It  were  futile  to  attempt  to  embrace  in  a 
single  sermon  the  reflections  awakened  even 
by  this  very  superficial  retrospect  of  the  pe- 
riod which  defines  my  pastoral  life  among 
you.  One  sentiment,  not  so  immediately  per- 
sonal as  some  I  may  presently  express,  is  too 
deeply  impressed  upon  my  mind  to  be  with- 
held. 

The  last  twenty-five  years  has  been  a  time 
of  trial  no  less  for  churches  than  for  political 
institutions.     Every  important   denomination 


76  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

in  our  country  has  been  agitated  with  great 
controversies.  Several  of  them  have  been 
rent  asunder.  And  others,  though  retaining 
an  external  cohesion,  are  riven  with  seams 
and  fissures  which  make  their  alleged  unity  a 
merely  nominal  thing.  The  position  in  which 
Providence  placed  me,  has  not  been  unfavor- 
able to  a  calm  and  comprehensive  survey  of 
the  working  of  the  various  systems  of  eccle- 
siastical faith  and  polity.  And  I  feel  it  to  be 
both  my  duty  and  my  pleasure,  to  say  here 
to-day,  that  every  year's  experience  has  gone 
to  confirm  my  confidence  in  the  principles 
which  you  and  I  entertain,  and  to  enhance 
my  gratitude  to  God  that  I  have  had  my  birth 
and  training  and  ministry  in  the  Presbyterian 
Church.  I  cast  no  reproach  upon  other 
Churches.  I  challenge  no  exclusive  immuni- 
ties for  our  own.  But  I  bless  God  that  /  am 
a  Presbyterian. 

One  ground  of  this  is,  that  in  reviewing  the 
period  of  my  pastorate,  I  find  the  Presbyterian 
Church  honorably  distinguished  by  the  esti- 
mate it  puts  upon  Divine  truth.     There  is  a 


Quarter  -  Century  Discourse.  77 

system  of  theology  which,  however  it  may  be 
designated  by  a  mere  human  name,  and  styled 
Calvinism  as  a  matter  of  convenience,  has 
been  held  by  the  great  body  of  eminent  divines 
and  evangelical  Christians  from  the  clays  of 
the  apostles  until  now.  It  was  embodied  in 
the  creeds  and  confessions  of  the  Reformed 
Churches,  with  scarcely  an  exception.  It 
teaches  the  sovereignty  of  God,  the  fore- 
ordination  of  all  events,  the  depravity  of 
man,  the  vicarious  nature  and  the  efficacy  of 
the  atonement,  the  necessity  of  regeneration, 
justification  by  faith  alone,  the  absolute  de- 
pendence of  man  upon  the  Holy  Spirit,  the 
obligation  of  repentance  and  holy  obedience, 
and  eternal  rewards  and  punishments.  Of 
this  system,  which  so  many  illustrious  theolo- 
gians and  so  many  renowned  churches  have 
deduced  from  the  teachings  of  Christ  and  his 
apostles,  I  have  found  the  Church  to  which 
it  is  your  privilege  and  mine  to  belong,  to  be 
the  special  guardian.  She  has  not  held  it  as 
a  mere  form — content  that  it  should  be  en- 
shrined in  her  symbols  and  put  away  out  of 


7  8  Quarter  -  Cent  ury  Discourse. 

sight.  She  has  not  overshadowed  it  with  rites 
and  ceremonies,  and  degraded  it  to  a  subordi- 
nate place  in  her  ministrations.  She  has  not 
allowed  other  incompatible  and  hostile  creeds 
to  come  and  encamp  within  her  walls  along- 
side of  it.  She  has  not  permitted  her  minis- 
ters to  suppress  it,  lest,  peradventure,  certain 
of  its  high  and  holy  utterances  might  offend 
the  pride  of  the  human  heart.  On  the  con- 
trary, she  has  insisted  that  her  pastors  should 
hold  it  in  its  plenary  integrity;  that  they 
should  faithfully  preach  it ;  that  they  should 
repel  every  effort  which  might  be  made 
to  corrupt  or  dilute  it;  that  they  should 
instil  it  into  the  minds  of  the  rising  genera- 
tion; and  that  they  should  constantly  impress 
it  upon  all  their  people,  that  a  Church  is 
nothing  without  the  truth;  that  there  can 
be  no  real  religion  separate  from  the  truth; 
that  God  has  confided  to  man  no  treasure  so 
sacred  and  so  invaluable  as  the  truth  ;  and 
that  to  betray  or  even  disparage  the  truth,  is 
to  commit  a  heinous  sin  against  God  and  to 
make  war  upon  the  only  hope  of  a  lost  world. 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  79 

These  imperative  and  pregnant  requisitions 
I  have  seen  maintained  and  enforced  by  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  with  an  energy  dis- 
played by  no  other  communion.  Nowhere 
else  have  I  observed  the  same  appreciation 
put  upon  sound  doctrine,  or  the  same  stern 
and  righteous  reprehension  dealt  out  to  the 
popular  sentiment  expressed  in  that  infidel 
sneer, 

"For  modes  of  faith  let  graceless  zealots  fight." 

Taught  in  a  different  school,  and  imbued 
with  a  spirit  as  alien  from  this  as  light  is 
from  darkness,  she  has,  as  occasion  called  for 
it,  6  contended  earnestly  for  the  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints/  and  shown  herself  a 
living  branch  of  that  Church  which  is  '  the 

PILLAR  AND  GROUND  OF  THE  TRUTH.' 

Had  she  paused  here,  however,  my  rever- 
ence for  her  had  been  abated.  Bat  while 
insisting  upon  the  truth,' I  have  seen  her  with 
equal  zeal  reprobating  a  barren  orthodoxy; 
and  everywhere  teaching  that  truth  was  in 
order  to  godliness.  No  Church  has  been  more 
inflexible  in  enforcing  the  necessity  of  a  radi- 


£  0  Quarter  ■  Century  Discourse. 

cal  change  of  heart  by  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  of  a  reliance  upon  the  righteous- 
ness of  Christ  as  the  only  ground  of  hope  for 
a  sinner.  No  Church  has  been  more  faithful 
in  protesting  against  the  three  great  delusions, 
of  fanaticism,  formalism,  and  a  mere  worldly 
Christianity.  She  has  scorned  all  fellowship 
with  those  types  of  so-called  piety,  which 
make  religion  to  consist  in  dreams  and  reve- 
lations, and  vulgar  antics  in  the  sanctuary. 
With  the  same  firmness,  she  has  lifted  up  her 
remonstrances  against  any  undue  reliance 
upon  rites  and  sacraments,  and  iterated  it  in 
the  ears  of  her  children,  that  they  might 
emulate  the  very  Pharisees  in  their  outward 
observances,  without  knowing  the  first  rudi- 
ments of  the  Gospel.  And,  again,  she  has 
branded  as  hypocritical  and  ruinous,  any  pro- 
fession of  faith  which  leaves  the  individual 
still  a  votary  of  the  world ;  which  practically 
aims  at  amalgamating  the  service  of  God  and 
the  service  of  mammon,  and  repudiates  every 
badge  of  discipleship  but  going  to  the  Lord's 
table.     Resisting  these  several  errors,  she  has 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  81 

never  ceased  to  inculcate  an  enlightened  and 
vigorous  faith,  which  shall  authenticate  itself 
by  a  holy  temper  and  life,  as  indispensable  to 
salvation.  And  herein  she  has  appeared  to 
me  to  exhibit  another  of  the  marks  of  a  truly 
Scriptural  Church. 

Again,  I  have  watched  the  working  of  this 
Church, -and  found  its  influence  to  be  good, 
and  only  good,  and  that  continually.  It  has 
seemed  to  me  to  combine  in  a  pre-eminent 
degree,  the  opposite  elements  of  strength  and 
flexibility.  It  is  neither  a  petrified  image  of 
orthodoxy,  nor  a  flaming  meteor  consuming 
itself  and  everything  it  touches  with  unhal- 
lowed fire.  At  once  conservative  and  pro- 
gressive, it  has  readily  affiliated  with  every 
agency  adapted  to  elevate  and  improve  the 
race,  and  as  instinctively  arrayed  itself  against 
every  demonstration  hostile  to  the  happiness 
of  mankind.  The  friend  of  civil  and  religious 
liberty,  it  has  gone  forward  to  their  rescue 
on  emergencies  which  awed  the  resolute  and 
made  the  prudent  falter.  Animated  by  a 
robust  and  generous  patriotism,  it  has  with 


82  Quarter  -  Century  Discourse. 

one  hand  scattered  spiritual  blessings  over  our 
land,  and  with  the  other  poured  oil  upon  the 
surging  billows  of  faction,  and  emploj^ed  its 
majestic  powers  in  holding  the  incensed  and 
alienated  sections  of  the  Union  together.  This 
I  have  seen;  and  loving  my  country,  I  cannot 
but  love  my  Church,  which  has,  under  God, 
done  so  much,  first,  to  achieve  the  independ- 
ence of  my  country;  secondly,  to  foster  all  its 
vital  interests;  and,  last  of  all,  to  preserve  its 
integrity  and  perpetuate  its  blessings. 

For  these  reasons — not  to  specify  others — I 
am  grateful  to  God,  after  twenty-five  years' 
experience,  that  He  was  pleased  to  cast  my 
lot  in  the  Presbyterian  Church.  I  feel  that 
i  the  lines  have  fallen  to  me  in  pleasant 
places,'  and  that  I  have  ''a  goodly  heritage.' 
It  is  of  all  others  the  place  where  I  should 
choose  to  deposit  my  best  earthly  treasures. 
No  human  foresight  can  guard  against  every 
contingency.  And  our  beloved  Church  may 
hereafter  become  venal  and  apostate.  But 
in  looking  over  the  country  and  reviewing  the 
last  quarter  of  a  century,  there  is  no  guardian- 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  83 

ship  to  which  I  would  so  soon  commit  my 
children  and  the  friends  who  are  dearest  to  me, 
as  hers.  I  believe  they  will  be  safer,  there, 
than  anywhere  else.  I  believe  they  will  be 
exposed  to  fewer  noxious  influences,  and  sur- 
rounded by  more  of  the  associations  which  are 
favorable  to  virtue  and  piety.  I  believe  it 
will  be  most  conducive  to  their  present  hap- 
piness, and  to  their  eternal  salvation — that, 
so  to  speak,  there  will  be  a  greater  probability 
of  their  getting  to  heaven,  and  of  children's 
children  following  each  other  there  from  gene- 
ration to  generation.  And,  believing  this,  I 
must  be  false  to  every  parental  instinct,  false 
to  the  sacred  claims  of  those  who  may  come 
after  me  in  long  succession,  false  to  the  saint- 
ed dead  whose  principles  I  have  inherited, 
and  false  to  that  Saviour  whose  mercy  I  have 
experienced  and  whose  most  unworthy  minis- 
ter I  am,  if  I  should  neglect  any  practicable 
means  for  inspiring  my  own  household  and 
the  families  committed  to  my  care,  with  the 
love  I  cherish  for  our  Church,  and  the  inflexi- 
ble purpose  never  to  abandon  it.     And  in  this 


84  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

particular  (certainly  not  in  others),  I  may  say 
without  indelicacy,  and  in  all  sincerity  I  do 
say,  '  I  would  to  God,  that  every  parent  in 
my  congregation,  and  all  who  hear  me  this 
day,  were  both  almost  and  altogether  such  as 
I  am.' 

I  have  glanced  at  a  topic  here,  too  import- 
ant to  be  dismissed  without  a  sentence  or  two 
more — I  mean  the  duty  of  training  up  our 
children  in  the  principles  which  we  ourselves 
profess.  It  is  too  much  the  case  in  this  age 
of  precocious  childhood,  when  the  relations  of 
the  parties  seem  often  to  be  inverted,  that 
children  are  left  to  wander  away  from  the 
fold  to  which  their  parents  belong,  wherever 
caprice  may  carry  them.  Numerous  agencies 
are  conspiring,  at  least  in  our  country,  to 
foster  a  premature  independence  on  the  part 
of  the  young,  and  make  them  impatient  of  all 
wholesome  control.  The  compact  family  or- 
ganization, with  its  paternal  priesthood,  its 
orderly  habits,  its  secluded,  confidential  inter- 
course, and  its  stated  convocations  for  instruc- 
tion in  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  is  rudely  invaded 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  85 

from  without,  and  its  defences  are  in  imminent 
danger  of  being  broken  down.  The  whole 
spirit  of  this  bustling,  officious,  money-making, 
impertinent  age,  is  hostile  to  the  very  idea 
of  Home,  and  to  all  its  sacred  duties  and 
pleasures. 

Then,  again,  this  is  a  period  of  great  latidu- 
dinarianism  in  religion.  Every  body  wishes 
to  be  deemed  religious,  and  of  course,  as  the 
carnal  mind  is  just  as  much  c  enmity  against 
God'  as  ever,  the  only  way  in  which  this  can 
be  brought  about  is,  to  bring  religion  down  to 
a  level  that  shall  make  it  palatable  to  the 
unrenewed  heart.  Truth,  therefore,  is  little 
thought  of.  The  piety  which  insists  upon  the 
e  washing  of  regeneration  and  renewing  of  the 
Holy  Ghost/  upon  the  sprinkling  of  the  blood 
of  atonement  upon  the  heart  and  conscience, 
upon  faith  in  the  Redeemer  as  the  only  me- 
dium of  pardon,  and  upon  a  holy  life — this 
sort  of  piety  is  '  too  fanatical/  A  decent  de- 
portment will  be  conceded,  and  a  sound  creed, 
and  a  punctilious  ceremonial :    but  here  you 

8* 


86  Quarter  -  Ctnlury  Discourse. 

must  pause.     If  you  venture  further,  you  be- 
come '  precise'  and  6  puritanical.' 

Now  what  are  we  to  do,  with  dangers  like 
these  threatening  our  children  on  every  hand? 
Are  we  to  let  the  world  come  in,  and  con- 
found our  domestic  ties,  and  sweep  away  our 
sons  and  daughters  into  the  great  vortex  of 
frivolity  and  impiety  ?  Are  we  to  abandon 
them  to  their  own  capricious  impulses,  and  let 
them  throw  themselves  into  the  stream  of 
fashionable  formalism?  We  cannot  do  it. 
That  is,  we  cannot  do  it  without  betraying 
the  most  sacred  trust  God  has  confided  to  us. 
We  are  bound  by  every  consideration  of  duty 
and  interest,  to  cherish  their  household  vir- 
tues ;  to  bind  them  close  to  our  hearts  and 
keep  them  there;  and,  above  all,  to  pour  the 
truth  into  their  minds ;  to  keep  them  within 
the  reach  of  the  Gospel;  to  show  them  the 
excellence  of  that  system  of  faith  and  order 
which  we  hold;  and  to  train  them  to  love  and 
cherish  it  for  their  own  sake  and  for  ours.  If 
a  quarter  of  a  century  has  shown  us  anything 
more  of  the  power  and  preciousness  of  this 


Quarter  ■  Century  Discourse.  87 

divine  system,  let  us  manifest  it  by  teaching 
our  families  to  prize  it  also.  If  it  has  been  a 
blessing  to  us,  it  will  be  no  less  a  blessing  to 
them.  To  lodge  it  in  their  hearts  in  its  trans- 
forming and  saving  efficacy,  is  God's  prero- 
gative, not  ours.  But  we  can,  ordinarily, 
keep  them  from  casting  it  off.  We  can  do 
much  to  link  them  in  inviolable  bonds  to  our 
beloved  Church,  to  surround  them  with  influ- 
ences favorable  to  their  conversion,  and,  by 
God's  blessing,  to  prepare  them  for  a  useful 
life,  a  peaceful  death,  and  a  glorious  immor- 
tality. 

You  will  readily  suppose  that  on  the  recur- 
rence of  an  anniversary  like  this,  my  own 
mind  reverts  with  interest  and  anxiety  to  the 
general  tone  of  the  ministrations  with  which  we 
have  been  occupied  here.  To  express  all  that 
I  feel  in  recalling  the  deficiencies  and  weak- 
nesses, the  mistakes  and  sins,  which  have 
marred  these  services  and  impaired  their  use- 
fulness, would  neither  be  decorous  nor  profit- 
able. I  will  only  say,  that  there  can  be  no 
individual    here   whose    impressions   on    this 


88  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

point  are  stronger  than  my  own ;  and  cer- 
tainly none  whose  retrospect  of  the  Sabbaths 
we  have  spent  together,  can  awaken  so  many 
sad  and  reproachful  emotions.  But  the  scene 
is  not  all  dark.  It  is  an  unspeakable  satisfac- 
tion to  me  to  reflect,  that,  with  all  its  imper- 
fections, the  preaching  you  have  listened  to 
has  been,  not  deism,  not  philosophy,  not  mere 
morality,  but  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Accord- 
ing to  my  ability,  I  have  set  forth  before  you 
that  system  of  truth  of  which  I  have  just 
been  speaking,  as  the  burden  of  prophets 
and  apostles,  the  glory  of  the  Reformed 
Churches,  and  the  peculiar  jewel  of  our  own. 
When  I  came  to  you  'in  weakness,  and  in 
fear,  and  in  much  trembling,'  it  was  with  the 
determination  to  'know  nothing  among  you 
save  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified.'  I  have 
never  interpreted  this  to  mean  that  a  Pastor 
was  to  confine  himself  to  the  iteration  of  the 
Saviour's  name,  or  to  the  exposition  of  a  few 
leading  doctrines  of  the  New  Testament.  I 
regard  it,  rather,  as  importing,  that  the 
preacher  is  to  take  his  stand  at  the  cross,  and 


Quarter  -  Century  Discourse.  89 

to  bring  forward  the  whole  circle  of  revealed 
truth  as  surveyed  from  that  position.  Such 
I  find  to  have  been  the  apostle's  own  expla- 
nation of  the  rule,  as  interpreted  by  his  prac- 
tice. For  there  is  scarcely  a  topic  in  divinity 
or  in  morals  which  he  has  not  handled;  and 
they  who  would  circumscribe  the  pulpit  to  a 
few  common-places  in  the  evangelical  system, 
will  appeal  in  vain  to  Paul  for  an  authority. 
How  difficult  a  task  it  is  'rightly  to  divide  the 
word  of  truth/  is  known  only  to  those  who 
have  attempted  it.  Examine  the  Bible.  See 
what  an  inexhaustible  treasure-house  it  is,  in 
the  extent  and  variety,  in  the  grandeur  and 
importance,  of  its  themes.  Consider  its  his- 
tories and  biographies,  its  prophecies  and  doc- 
trines, its  precepts  and  promises:  then  look 
at  the  endless  diversities  of  human  character 
and  condition;  the  multifarious  variety  of 
wants  and  woes,  of  dangers  and  duties,  of 
relations  and  responsibilities,  which  meet, 
often,  in  a  single  congregation ;  and  decide 
whether  it  can  be  a  trivial  matter  so  to  select 
and  adjust  the  topics  of  the  Bible,  as  to  insure 


90  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

to  every  individual  of  this  mass  'his  portion 
in  due  season/  and  to  bring  about,  in  a  pro- 
tracted ministry,  the  best  possible  results. 
All  that  can  be  fairly  exacted  of  a  Pastor,  is, 
that  he  should  aim  at  this,  and  do  his  best  to 
accomplish  it.  That  your  Pastor  has  griev- 
ously failed  in  very  many  particulars,  he  has 
not  the  least  question.  But  I  have  endea- 
vored to  preach  to  you  the  Gospel  of  Christ; 
and  c 1  have  showed  you  and  have  taught  you 
publicly  and  from  house  to  house,  testifying 
to  you  all,  repentance  toward  God  and  faith 
toward  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.' 

For  the  candor  and  kindness  with  which 
you  have  listened  to  these  instructions,  I  owe 
you  many  thanks.  For  the  efficacy  which  it 
has  pleased  the  great  Head  of  the  Church  to 
impart  to  them,  neither  you  nor  I  can  be  suf- 
ficiently grateful.  We  have  reason,  I  cer- 
tainly have,  to  be  deeply  humbled,  that  these 
twenty-five  years  have  passed  away,  and  left 
no  more  fruit.  But  some  fruit  there  is ;  and 
for  this  we  may  lay  our  thank-offering  upon 
His  altar.     You  can  recall  'times  of  refresh- 


Quarter  -  Century  Discourse.  91 

ing  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord/  when  you 
felt  this  to  be  the  house  of  God  and  the  very 
gate  of  heaven.  To  many  among  you  this  is 
consecrated  ground.  It  will  be  said  of  our 
humble  church  hereafter,  'This  and  that  man 
was  born  in  her.  The  Lord  shall  count  when 
he  writeth  up  the  people,  that  this  man  was 
born  there.'  Here  God  has  met  you.  Here, 
when  you  came  up  to  his  courts  careless  and 
giddy,  His  spirit  opened  your  hearts  to  the 
truth,  set  your  sins  in  order  before  your  eyes, 
pierced  your  bosoms  with  anguish,  and  sent 
you  home  with  the  cry,  'God,  be  merciful  to 
me  a  sinner!'  And  here  he  has  again  met 
you,  taken  off  your  burdens,  and  dismissed 
you  with  that  peace  which  passeth  under- 
standing. This  has  been  the  place  of  your 
espousals  to  Christ,  and  here  you  have  for  the 
first  time  sat  down  at  his  table,  and  com- 
memorated his  dying  love. 

But  no  pen  may  attempt  to  delineate  the 
scenes  which  must  occur  in  any  church  where 
the  Gospel  is  preached,  and  which  have  doubt- 
less occurred  here,  during  a  period  of  twenty- 


92  Quarter  -  Century  Discourse. 

five  years.  The  influences  proper  to  a  place 
like  this,  are  too  powerful  not  to  tell  upon  the 
characters  of  those  who  are  brought  within 
their  reach.  What  fierce  inward  conflicts 
have  there  been  here  between  the  flesh  and 
the  spirit!  What  upbraidings  of  conscience! 
What  stifled  convictions !  What  struggles 
against  the  truth !  What  wrestlings  with  sin ! 
What  noble  resolves  !  What  cries  for  deliver- 
ance !  What  yearnings  after  pardon  !  What 
anxious  looks  towards  Calvary !  What  tri- 
umphs of  Satan  over  awakened  souls !  What 
victories  of  contrite  and  believing  penitents 
over  Satan  !  How  many  led  captive  by  sin ! 
How  many  conquerors ! 

Here,  in  the  sanctuary,  is  the  great  battle- 
ground on  which  heaven  and  hell  are  contest- 
ing the  possession  of  the  soul:— 

"  The  soul  of  man — Jehovah's  breath — 
That  keeps  two  worlds  at  strife  ; 
Hell  moves  beneath  to  work  its  death, 
Heaven  stoops  to  give  it  life !" 

Nor  does  the  conflict  cease  with  the  sur- 
render of  the  soul  to  Christ.     The  whole  in- 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  93 

ward  life  of  the  Christian  is  compounded  of 
hopes  and  fears,  joys  and  sorrows,  sinning  and 
repenting,  doubting  and  trusting,  striving  and 
halting,  cleaving  to  earth  and  soaring  heaven- 
ward. And  the  sanctuary  is,  of  all  others, 
the  spot  where  the  adverse  elements  which 
enter  into  his  character,  are  stimulated  into 
intense  activity,  and  produce  their  most  de- 
cisive effects  upon  his  conduct. 

For  twenty-five  years  these  latent  processes, 
seen  only  by  that  eye  which  sees  all  things, 
have  been  going  on  here,  in  hundreds  of 
bosoms.  Let  God  be  praised  that  there  have 
been  results  which  we  can  all  think  of  with 
complacency.  He  has  met  the  hungry  here 
and  fed  them  with  the  bread  of  life.  He  has 
given  to  mourners  in  Zion,  beauty  for  ashes, 
the  oil  of  joy  for  mourning,  and  the  garment 
of  praise  for  the  spirit  of  heaviness.  He  has 
given  strength  to  the  weak,  and  to  them  that 
had  no  might  he  has  increased  strength.  He 
has  sought  that  which  was  lost,  and  brought 
again  that  which  was  driven  away,  and  bo*und 
up  that  which  was  broken,  and  strengthened 


91  Quarter  -  Century  Discourse. 

that  which  was  sick,  and  made  them  and  the 
places  round  about  his  hill  a  blessing.  He 
has  extracted  the  sting  from  wounded  con- 
sciences, bound  up  the  bruised  reed,  and  re- 
vived the  smoking  flax.  He  has  enabled 
mourners  to  say,  where  they  thought  they 
never  could  say  it,  '  Thy  will  be  done !'  He 
has  given  his  people  strength  to  endure  trials 
which  they  had  believed  must  crush  them. 
He  has  disclosed  the  pillar  of  cloud  and  of 
fire  to  the  perplexed  and  the  timorous.  He 
has  laid  his  hand  upon  the  presumptuous,  and 
held  them  back  from  sins  which  must  have 
destroyed  them.  He  has  brought  scoffers  and 
sensualists  and  washed  them  from  their  pollu- 
tion in  the  fountain  opened  for  sin  and  for  un- 
cleanness.  He  has  shown  the  amiable  and 
the  moral  the  insufficiency  of  their  own  right- 
eousness to  bear  the  scrutiny  of  a  holy  God. 
He  has  stirred  up  parents  to  greater  fidelity 
and  children  to  greater  reverence,  and  opened 
in  numerous  families  sources  of  pure  and 
rational  enjoyment  such  as  they  had  never 
dreamed  of.     He  has  touched   the  hearts  of 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  95 

young  men,  turned  them  aside  from  their 
chosen  occupations,  and  sent  them  forth  one 
after  another  as  ambassadors  for  Christ. 

These,  and  such  as  these,  are  the  benign 
offices  he  is  carrying  forward  here,  as  in  other 
churches.  And  when  we  reflect  upon  the 
results  involved  in  these  merciful  dispensa- 
tions continued  among  a  people  without  inter- 
ruption through  a  quarter  of  a  century,  or  for 
thirteen  hundred  Sabbaths,  the  children  of 
Zion  may  well  c  be  joyful  in  their  King.' 
Like  the  Hebrews  at  the  dedication  of  their 
temple,  you  may  '  go  to  your  tents  joyful  and 
glad  of  heart,  for  all  the  goodness  that  the 
Lord  has  done  for  Israel  his  people.' 

Standing  where  we  do  to-day,  it  is  impos- 
sible not  to  call  to  mind  our  trials  as  well  as 
our  mercies.  The  ministry  I  have  fulfilled 
among  you,  as  already  remarked,  has  not  been 
without  its  interruptions,  some  of  which  have 
threatened  to  bring  it  to  a  close.  But  in  your 
view,  my  attacks  of  sickness  have  been  simply 
Providential  afflictions  which  called  for  sym- 
pathy and    succor;    and  you  have    not    only 


96  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

submitted  to  them  without  complaining,  but 
made  every  recurrence  of  the  trial  an  occasion 
for  heaping  upon  me  fresh  kindnesses.  I  re- 
peat that  I  am  not  insensible  either  to  your 
affection,  or  to  the  mercy  of  our  Heavenly 
Father  in  restoring  me  to  health  so  often  and 
permitting  me  to  resume  my  work.  There  is 
no  employment  in  this  world  which  I  love  so 
much  as  preaching  the  Gospel ;  no  office  which 
I  feel  to  be  so  honorable  or  so  useful  as  that  of 
a  Christian  pastor.  And  I  am  never  laid  aside 
from  its  duties  temporarily,  without  being 
filled  with  sorrow  in  reviewing  the  manner  in 
which  I  have  met  my  responsibilities,  and 
penetrated  with  gratitude  to  God  for  the  favor 
he  has  shown  to  my  unworthy  labors.  Nor 
do  I  regard  it  as  the  least  memorable  token  of 
his  paternal  care,  that  the  congregation  has 
been  kept  in  the  same  united  and  flourishing 
condition  in  my  absence,  as  when  I  have  been 
with  you. 

But  your  trials — and  especially  your  bereave- 
ments — how  they  come  thronging  around  us  on 
an  occasion  like  this.     What  a  chasm  has  this 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  97 

quarter  of  a  century  made  in  the  congregation 
assembled  here  on  the  evening  of  the  8th  of 
November,  1833!  Here  and  there,  as  I  look 
along  these  aisles,  I  meet  a  friendly  face  which 
greeted  me,  a  stranger,  then ;  but  with  a  very 
few  exceptions,  the  gentlemen  who  sat  at  the 
heads  of  these  pews  have  disappeared.  Nume- 
rous families  have  been  entirely  broken  up  by 
death.  And  some  of  you  have  had  breach 
upon  breach  in  your  fireside  circles,  until  every 
step  of  the  way  to  the  cemeteries  has  been  wet 
with  your  tears.  The  mortality  already  men- 
tioned has  included  all  classes  and  ages  :  death 
is  no  respecter  of  persons.  We  have  seen 
many  hoary-headed  saints  gathered  into  the 
garner,  like  as  a  shock  of  corn  cometh  in  in 
his  season.  Infants  that  have  lingered  here 
just  long  enough  to  entwine  themselves  around 
loving  hearts ;  daughters  in  the  pride  and  love- 
liness of  opening  womanhood ;  wives  whose 
nuptial  ceremonies  proved  the  harbinger  of 
their  funeral  pageants ;  mothers  whose  clus- 
tering virtues  shed  the  radiance  of  heaven 
over  happy  households;   young  men  panting 


9* 


98  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

for  the  contests  of  life,  like  the  war-horse  for 
the  battle ;  and  men  of  business  immersed  in 
the  cares  of  an  extended  traffic, — all  have 
vanished  from  our  eyes,  and  the  places  which 
knew  them,  know  them  no  more.  By  far  the 
larger  number  of  those  who  are  gone,  I  have 
visited  in  their  sickness — not  to  speak  again 
of  the  frequent  instances  in  which  I  have  been 
called  to  minister  consolation  or  instruction  to 
strangers  whom  Providence  has  brought  here 
to  die  at  our  hotels.  Death  has  become  a 
familiar  spectacle  to  me ;  and  I  have  seen  it 
under  many  forms.  I  have  seen  it  when  it 
came  like  a  demon  attended  by  the  furies  of 
hell.  And  I  have  seen  it  when  it  came  like 
an  angel  of  mercy  with  its  retinue  of  seraphs, 
to  convoy  the  departing  spirit  to  the  skies.  I 
have  watched  the  lamp  of  life  go  out,  when 
the  harrowing  thought  has  struck  a  chill 
through  me,  that,  in  all  probability,  life  and 
hope  must  expire  together.  And  I  have 
watched  its  flickering  flame  with  the  joyful 
assurance,  that  after  a  momentary  eclipse  it 
would   be   re-enkindled   before   the    sapphire 


Quarter  -Century  Discourse.  99 

throne.  I  have  stood  by  the  dying  when  it 
was  too  painful  to  be  endured,  except  under  an 
inexorable  sense  of  duty.  And  again  I  have 
stood  by  the  dying,  when  the  chamber  of  death 
seemed  like  the  very  vestibule  of  heaven.  It 
has  been  my  allotment,  by  turns,  to  teach  in  the 
presence  of  death,  and  to  be  taught ;  to  point 
to  the  Lamb  of  God,  and  to  have  the  Lamb  of 
God  held  forth  to  me ;  to  preach  Jesus  Christ 
and  him  crucified,  and  to  hear  Christ  crucified 
preached  with  an  eloquence  and  a  power  un- 
known to  my  poor  ministrations ;  to  encourage 
desponding  souls,  and  to  see  some  c  Great 
Heart'  going  forward  to  the  last  encounter, 
with  a  majestic  faith  which  gave  certain  pre- 
sage of  victory.  For  the  most  part,  those  who 
had  borne  an  exemplary  Christian  character, 
have  died  in  peace.  Even  where  they  have 
long  had  a  peculiar  horror  of  death,  and  felt 
that  they  must  be  overwhelmed  in  the  waves, 
they  have  been  mercifully  relieved  of  this  fear 
as  the  hour  approached,  and  at  length,  on 
going  down  into  the  river,  the  water  has  been 
so  low  and  still  that  they  have  passed  over  all 


100  Quarter  -  Gen  tury  Discou  rse. 

but  dry-shod.  To  my  own  mind,  this  is  one 
of  the  most  expressive  and  touching  of  all  the 
tokens  we  have,  of  the  faithfulness  and  tender- 
ness of  our  Heavenly  Father — his  condescend- 
ing kindness  towards  humble  and  doubting 
Christians,  in  the  prospect  of  death.  It  is  a 
spectacle  of  true  moral  sublimity,  to  see  such 
a  Christian — a  delicate  and  refined  female, 
perhaps — losing  her  timidity  as  she  loses  her 
strength,  gaining  confidence  amidst  the  decays 
of  nature,  her  faith  waxing  stronger  as  she 
draws  nearer  to  eternity,  and  finally  exclaim- 
ing, as  she  grapples  with  the  last  enemy, 
'Thanks  be  to  God  which  giveth  me  the  vic- 
tory, through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord !'  I  know 
of  nothing  adapted  in  an  equal  degree  with 
scenes  like  this,  to  confirm  our  faith  in  the 
divine  authority  of  our  holy  religion,  or  to 
arm  the  believer  against  the  fear  of  death.  I 
would  counsel  you,  therefore,  not  to  shun  such 
scenes.  There  are  lessons  there  for  you,  which 
you  will  get  nowhere  else. 

"  The  chamber  where  the  good  man  meets  his  fate, 
Is  privileg'd  beyond  the  common  walk 
Of  virtuous  life,  quite  in  the  verge  of  heav'n." 


Quarter -Century  Discourse.  101 

And  when  your  turn  comes  to  meet  the  de- 
stroyer, it  may  greatly  nerve  your  faith  and 
hope  to  have  frequented  this  'chamber/  and 
seen  how  God  has  supported  even  the  feeblest 
of  his  children  and  brought  them  off  more 
than  conquerors. 

But  there  is  one  aspect  of  this  subject  pecu- 
liarly solemn  to  the  mind  of  a  Pastor.  He 
looks  over  his  congregation  and  finds,  it  may 
be,  that  several  hundred  of  the  individuals 
who  once  sat  under  his  ministry,  are  now  in 
eternity.  What  report  have  they  borne  with 
them  as  to  his  fidelity  ?  Did  he  set  life  and 
death  before  them?  Did  he  admonish  them 
of  their  sins  ?  Did  he  tell  them  what  they 
must  do  to  be  saved  ?  Did  he,  on  all  fit  occa- 
sions, urge  them  to  make  their  peace  with 
God?  Did  he  caution  them  against  false 
grounds  of  confidence'?  Did  he  endeavor  to 
establish  them  in  the  truth  and  build  them 
up  in  holiness?  Did  he  labor  to  bring  out 
their  resources,  to  show  them  how  they  might 
be  useful,  and  how  they  might  make  the  most 


102  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

of  their  influence  in  promoting  the  success  of 
the  Gospel  ? 

These  are  very  serious,  as  they  are  very 
natural,  questions.  The  dead  are  now  beyond 
his  reach,  and  the  ineradicable  impress  of 
eternity  is  upon  them.  Happy  is  that  Pastor 
whose  conscience  acquits  him  of  blame  in  this 
matter;  who  feels  in  respect  to  all  who  are 
gone,  that  he  did  everything  he  could  for 
their  salvation.  Alas,  my  brethren,  who  of 
us,  Pastor  or  people,  can  say  this  concerning 
the  dead !  How  many  are  gone  with  whom 
we  ought  to  have  labored  more  to  bring  them 
to  Christ !  How  easy  would  it  have  been  to 
speak  to  them  oftener  on  the  subject,  to  place 
some  suitable  book  in  their  hands,  to  invite 
them  to  the  sanctuary,  to  remove  their  preju- 
dices against  religion,  to  do  a  score  of  things, 
any  one  of  which  might,  by  the  blessing  of 
God,  have  been  useful  to  them ! 

I  feel  all  this  as  a  Pastor.  There  are 
doubtless  parents  here  who  feel  it  keenly  as 
to  their  deceased  children.  Everv  one  must 
feel  it  in  respect  to  companions  and  friends 


Quarter ■  Century  Discourse.  103 

who  have  been  summoned  away  in  an  unex- 
pected hour.  Let  us  see  to  it,  that  the  lesson 
is  not  lost  upon  us.  We  may  go  to  the  graves 
of  the  departed  and  bemoan  our  unfaithful- 
ness to  their  souls ;  but  the  best  tribute  we 
can  pay  them,  is  to  perform  our  duty  to  the 
living.  There  are  others  still  around  us  who 
may  die  as  suddenly  and  with  as  little  prepa- 
ration. These  we  can  reach.  And  if  the 
slumberers  could  burst  their  cerements  and 
come  back,  they  would  bid  us  cease  from 
wasting  our  posthumous  regrets  upon  them, 
and  address  ourselves  to  the  saving  of  those 
for  whom  salvation  is  yet  possible. 

But  I  trespass  too  long  upon  your  patience. 
A  single  thought  more,  and  I  have  done. 

The  past  and  the  future  blend  imperceptibly 
together.  While  we  review  the  years  that  are 
gone,  the  imagination  busies  itself  about  the 
years  that  are  to  come.  On  the  evening  of 
that  ordination  service,  the  scroll  on  which 
the  events  of  this  quarter-century  were  to  be 
recorded  was,  to  our  eyes,  of  virgin  whiteness : 


101  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

no  mortal  hand  would  have  presumed  to  draw 
the  faintest  hair-stroke  of  the  annals  to  be 
inscribed  upon  it.  To  God's  eye,  it  was  all 
written  over  then,  as  it  is  now  to  us.  But 
who  could  have  conceived  what  characters  it 
was  to  reveal  ?  Who  among  that  vast  assem- 
blage could  have  believed,  had  the  idea  been 
suggested,  that  twenty -five  years  would  work 
such  changes  in  this  congregation,  as  those  we 
have  been  contemplating?  Another  scroll 
lies  before  us  to-day,  unsullied  as  the  Alpine 
snow.  It  is  to  receive  the  history  of  these 
coming  years,  and  bear  it  to  the  judgment  seat, 
and  then  onward  through  eternity.  When  at 
the  close  of  another  quarter-century,  that  too 
faithful  chronicle  shall  be  spread  before  the 
congregation  then  worshipping  in  this  house, 
it  will  doubtless  be  like  the  one  we  have  been 
reading.  It  will  tell  of  changes  possibly  as 
great  as  those  which  are  past.  It  will  relate 
the  joys  and  the  sorrows  of  many  a  house- 
hold; the  dispersion  of  families;  the  achieve- 
ments of  sin  and  the  victories  of  grace.  It 
may  state  that  of  the  four  hundred  and  fifty 


Quarter •  Century  Discourse.  105 

communicants  now  here,  only  fifty  remain  in 
the  Church;  and  that  of  the  families  to  which 
those  Mty  belong,  there  are  not  four  which 
have  escaped  the  inroads  of  death.  It  may 
speak  of  times  of  refreshing  when  many  were 
born  again;  of  other  colonies  gone  forth  to 
plant  new  churches ;  and  of  young  men  here 
dedicated  to  God  in  baptism,  who  have  be- 
come able  and  godly  ministers  of  the  New 
Testament.  It  may  contain  some  humble 
memorial  of  successive  Pastors,  who  have  stood 
here  and  published  the  Gospel  of  the  kingdom. 
There  is  an  absolute  certainty  that  many 
who  are  now  here,  will  be  written  in  that 
record  as  among  the  dead.  There  is  little 
probability  that  I  shall  be  here  to  witness  its 
unrolling.  Even  with  fewer  years,  my  pre- 
carious health  would  forbid  that  expectation. 
But  I  am  willing  to  leave  that  event  with 
Him  who  has  crowned  my  life  with  unnum- 
bered mercies.  My  times  are  in  His  hand. 
Goodness  and  mercy  have  followed  me  all  the 
days  of  my  life;  and  I  cannot  distrust  Him 
for  the  future.     But  I  must  and  do  distrust 

10 


106  Quarter -Century  Discourse. 

myself.  I  fear  for  my  own  soul.  And,  my 
beloved  people,  when  I  think  of  the  subtlety 
of  sin,  and  the  mighty  hindrances  which  ob- 
struct our  salvation,  I  fear  for  yours  also.  I 
tremble,  at  times,  under  the  weight  of  this 
burden  which  God  has  laid  upon  me.  I 
shrink  with  anguish  from  the  thought  of 
meeting  you  at  the  bar  of  Christ.  I  entreat 
you,  for  my  sake,  if  you  can  be  heedless  about 
3*ourselves,  to  be  reconciled  to  God.  What- 
ever may  be  my  lot  in  that  day,  wherever  I 
may  stand,  I  cannot  bear  to  see  any  of  you  at 
the  left  hand  of  Christ.  Oh,  give  yourselves 
to  the  Saviour,  while  you  may.  And  cease 
not  to  pray  for  me,  that  I  may  be  faithful  unto 
death,  and  so,  through  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ,  6  may  have  right  to  the  tree  of  life,' 
and  may  with  you  i  enter  in  through  the  gates 
into  the  city.' 


PUBLICATIONS 

OF 

PAEEY  &  M°MILLAN, 

PHILADELPHIA. 


The  Gospels :  with  Moral  Reflections  on  each  Verse. 

By  Pasqtjier  Quesnel.  With  an  Introductory  Essay,  by  the  Rev. 
Daniel  Wilson,  A.M.,  Vicar  of  Islington,  [now  Bishop  of 
Calcutta.]  Carefully  revised  by  the  Bev.  Henry  A.  Board- 
man,  D.  D.  Printed  with  bold  type,  on  beautifully  tinted  and 
sized  paper.     2  vols.  8vo.     $4. 


The  following  letters  of  commendation  from  eminent  clergymen,  and  brief 
extracts  selected  from  numerous  notices  of  the  religious  and  secular  press, 
are  submitted  by  the  publishers  as  evidence  of  the  very  high  character  of 
the  work : — 

"We  have  no  work  of  the  same  kind ;  we  hare  nothing  in  practical  di- 
vinity so  sweet,  so  spiritual,  so  interior  as  to  the  real  life  of  grace — so  rich, 
so  copious,  so  original.  We  have  nothing  that  extols  the  grace  of  God,  and 
abases  and  lowers  man  so  entirely.  We  lessen  not  the  value  of  our  various 
admirable  comments  on  the  New  Testameut ;  they  have  each  their  particu- 
lar excellencies.  But  none  of  them  supersedes  Quesnel;  none  can  supply 
that  thorough  insight  into  the  world,  the  evil  of  sin,  the  life  of  faith  and 
prayer,  which  he  possesses." — Bishop  Wilson. 

"A  repository  of  original,  striking,  spiritual  meditations,  the  absence  of 
which  could  be  supplied  by  no  other  work  in  our  language." — Dr.  Board- 
man. 

Messrs.  Parry  &  McMillan. 

Geutlemen  :  You  ai-e  very  welcome  to  the  use  of  my  name  as  recommend- 
ing the  valuable  and  eminently  spiritual  work  of  "Quesnel  on  the  Gos- 
pels," which  you  have  just  published. 

Chas.  P.  McIlvatne, 

Cincinnati,  Nov.  27,  1S.35.  Bishop  of  the  Prot.  Ep.  Oh.  in  Ohio. 

(From  the  Right  Rev.  Alonzo  Potter,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  the  Protestant  Epis- 
copal Church  for  the  Diocese  of  Pennsylvania.) 

Philadelphia,  Oct.  31,  18.35. 
Messrs.  Parry  &  McMillan. 

Gentlemen:  QuesnePs  Reflections  was  an  invaluable  contribution  to  the 
sacred  literature  of  the  world  in  its  original  form.  In  this  edition,  prepared 
under  the  auspices  of  such  names  as  Bishop  Wilson  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Board- 
man,  it  will  be  still  more  useful  for  English  and  Protestant  readers.  It 
occupied  a  large  part  of  the  life  of  one  of  the  most  illustrious  Jausenists  of 
the  seventeenth  century;  and  to  Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  and  to  private 
Christians  of  every  name,  it  must  always  be  an  inexhaustible  mine  of  inte- 
rest and  instruction.  Your  press  could  have  rendered  no  better  service  to 
the  public  than  by  such  an  edition  of  such  a  work. 

I  am,  gentlemen,  very  truly  yours,  Alonzo  Potter. 


(From  the  Rev.  Br.  Alexander,  Pastor  of  the  Fifth  Avenue  and  Nineteenth 
Street  Presbyterian  Church,  New  York.) 

New  York,  Oct.  24,  ISoo. 
The  work  of  Quesnel  on  the  Gospels  is  a  series  of  devotional  reflections 
which  has  commanded  the  suffrages  of  Protestants.  As  corrected,  it  is,  in 
my  opinion,  more  full  of  holy  suggestion,  especially  for  Ministers  of  the 
Word,  than  any  similar  writing;  indeed,  it  breathes  the  best  spirit  of  Ger- 
son,  Pascal,  and  Fenelon.  But  its  chief  glory  is  its  condemnation  by  the 
famous  Constitution  Unigenitcs  of  Pope  Clement  the  Eleventh.  I  rejoice 
in  the  republication  of  a  book  so  precious.  James  W.  Alexander. 

(From  the  Rev.  3fr.  Wylie,  Pastor  of  First  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church, 

Philadelphia. 
Messrs.  Parry  &  McMillan. 

Gentlemen :  I  rejoice  to  find  that  you  have  given  to  the  American  public 
so  handsome  an  edition  of  Quesnel's  Moral  Keflections  on  the  Gospels. 
There  is  a  fulness,  a  freshness,  a  sweetness  in  this  work  which  make  it  de- 
lightful reading,  and  now  that  it  has  passed  under  the  revision  of  two  such 
editors  as  Bishop  Wilson  and  Dr.  Boardman,  it  may  be  considered  perfectly 
free  from  any  tincture  of  Romanism.  I  regard  it  as  a  most  valuable  addi- 
tion to  a  library,  and  would  commend  it  to  the  preacher,  the  Sabbath  school 
teacher,  and  the  private  Christian,  as  a  most  profitable  and  agreeable  com- 
panion, in  the  study  of  the  Gospels.  I  hope  it  may  have  such  a  circulation 
as  will  lead  to  the  publication  of  his  writings  on  the  other  parts  of  the  New 
Testament.  With  great  regard,  truly  yours, 

Philadelphia,  Nov.  1S55.  T.  W.  J.  Wylie. 

EXTRACTS  FROM  NOTICES  OF  THE  PRESS. 

"This  world-renowned  work,  the  richest  product  of  Jansenist  Theology, 
impressed  with  the  imprimatur  of  the  Pope's  anathema,  is  now  for  the  first 
time  published  in  this  country.  *  *  *  *  It  will  be  read  in  this  country,  as 
it  has  long  been  in  Europe,  by  thousands,  to  their  spiritual  edification."— 
Biblical  Repertory  and  Princeton  Review. 

"We  think  that  all  good  people,  and  clergymen  especially,  will  greatly 
enjoy  and  be  largely  profited  by  these  'Reflections.'  They  are  not  a  com- 
ment on  the  Gospels,  but  each  verse  is  followed  by  a  few  lines  suggesting 
its  spiritual  richness  and  beauty,  and  often  opening  its  religious  sense  with 
charming  and  surprising  force.  The  volumes  are  admirably  printed  in  large 
and  fair  type,  and  in  excellent  taste." — Congregationalist. 

"We  doubt  not  that  ministers  and  private  Christians  will  find  these  vo- 
lumes to  be  a  storehouse  of  spiritual  treasures." — N.  Y.  Observer. 

"Quesnel  has  left  nothing  unwinnowed  but  the  finest  of  the  wheat." — 
National  Intelligencer. 

"The  readers  of  Henry  and  Scott's  Commentaries  will  recollect  how  fre- 
quently those  eminent  expositors  rely  on  Quesnel;  and  those  who  have 
been  able  to  consult  the  latter  author  himself,  will  join  in  wondering  that  a 
writer  so  remarkable  for  evangelical  spirit,  for  simplicity  of  style,  and  for 
weight  of  character,  should  not  have  heretofore  been  accessible  to  the  Ame- 
rican church." — Episcopal  Recorder. 

"  We  can  commend  the  work  as  spiritual,  rich,  copious,  original,  and 
abounding  in  earnest  and  frequent  applications  of  Scripture  truth  to  the 
inward  experience  and  practical  life  of  the  believer. "• — Presbyterian. 

"Messrs.  Parry  &  McMillan  have  conferred  a  lasting  benefit  upon  tha 
American  churches  by  the  publication  of  this  famous  work.  *  *  *  *  These 
Moral  Reflections  are  devout  utterances  of  deeply  spiritual  thought  upon 
each  verse  of  the  Gospels,  frequently  sublime  in  conception  and  brilliant 
in  expression.  Though  not  a  commentary,  it  is  affluent  in  the  most  apposite 
and  profitable  counsels;  fresh,  vigorous,  unfailing  in  its  variety  and  power 
of  suggestion.  To  our  mind,  it  is  without  a  rival  in  this  particular  species 
of  Scriptural  illustration,  and  is  admirably  adapted  for  daily  reading." — 
Methodist  Quarterly  Review. 


The  Two  Sacraments. 

A  Brief  Examination  of  the  views  entertained  by  the  Society  of 
Friends,  respecting  the  Christian  Ministry,  Baptism,  and  the 
Lord's  Supper.  By  Henry  A.  Boardman,  D.  D.  Paper,  12£ 
cents — cloth,  25  cents. 

Sermons,  Doctrinal  and  Practical. 

By  the  Rev.  William  Archer  Butler,  A.  M.,  late  Professor  of 
Moral  Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Dublin.  Edited  by  the 
very  Rev.  Thomas  Woodward,  A.M.,  Dean  of  Down.  First 
Series.  From  the  third  Cambridge  edition.  1  vol.  crown  8vo. 
Cloth,  $1  25. 

"  Eloquent  without  pretence,  rhetorical  without  being  florid,  and  glowing 
with  the  zeal,  the  piety,  the  spirituality  of  the  gospel." — N.  Y.  Observer. 

Sermons,  Doctrinal  and  Practical. 

By  the  Bev.  W.  Archer  Butler,  A.  M.  Edited  by  James  Ami- 
raux  Jeremie,  D.  D.,  Regius  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the 
University  of  Cambridge.  Second  Series.  From  the  third 
Cambridge  edition.      1  vol.  crown  Svo.     Cloth,  $1  25. 

"Poet,  orator,  metaphysician,  theologian." — Dahlia  University  Maga- 
zine^. 

"They  are  very  able  sermons;  very  far  superior  to  anything  we  have 
received  from  the  British  pulpit  in  these  latter  days." — Presbyterian  Herald. 

Lectures  on  the  History  of  Ancient  Philosophy. 

By  William  Archer  Butler,  M.  A.,  late  Professor  of  Moral 
Philosophy  in  the  University  of  Dublin.  Edited  from  the  au- 
thor's MSS.,  with  Notes,  by  Wm.  Hepworth  Thompson,  M.  A., 
Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  and  Regius  Professor  of  Greek  in  the 
University  of  Cambridge.    In  2  vols,  crown  Svo.     Cloth,  $3. 

"For  these  Lectures  we  cannot  express  our  admiration  in  too  ardent 
terms.  They  are  unmatched  in  our  language,  and,  we  think,  in  any  lan- 
guage, for  the  treatment  of  their  theme.  *  *  *  No  discussion  of  the  system 
of  Plato  can  compare  with  his  for  the  union  of  exact  knowledge  and  clear 
conceptions  of  a  glowing  yet  subdued  eloquence,  and  an  affectionate  and 
almost  personal  regard  for  the  Divine  Philosopher." — New  En  glander. 

"These  volumes  will  specially  interest  young  students  of  philosophy  for 
the  heart  and  soul  that  is  in  them,  and  the  perpetual  magnetism  of  the 
winning  mind  of  their  author,  who  could  not  he  dry,  even  in  a  discourse  on 
dust." — Congregational)  4. 

"A  work  of  the  greatest  value,  from  one  of  the  greatest  minds  of  the  age. 
The  author  was  in  the  best  and  largest  sense  a  Christian  philosopher." — 
Banner  of  the  Cross. 

Evenings  with  the  Prophets. 

A  series  of  Memoirs  and  Meditations.  By  Rev.  A.  Morton  Brown, 
LL.  D.,  Cheltenham.     1  vol.  crown  Svo.,  $1. 

"This  is  a  volume  of  high  merit,  both  as  an  elucidation  and  a  defence  of 
the  Scriptures."— London  Evangelical  Magazine, 

"Full  of  pious  and  excellent  thought,  well  fitted  to  he  read  in  connection 
with  the  devotions  of  either  the  family  or  the  closet." — Puritan  Recorder. 


Mornings  with  Jesus. 

A  series  of  Devotional  Readings  for  the  Closet  and  the  Family  for 
every  day  in  the  year,  earefully  prepared  from  notes  of  sermons 
preached  hy  the  late  Rev.  Win.  Jay,  of  Bath.  1  vol.  crown  8vo. 
Cloth,  gilt,  $1  25. 

"The  Rev.  Wm.  Jay  was  the  clergyman  whom  John  Foster,  the  celehrated 
essayist,  entitled  'the  prince  of  preachers.'  Judging  from  this  volume,  the 
very  skeleton  of  his  discourse  has  more  energy  than  the  entire  hody  of  some 
men's  pulpit  oratory." — X.  Y.  Cum.  Adv. 

"There  is  a  peculiar  freshness  about  these  pages  which  gives  them  a 
charm  superior  to  almost  any  other  of  the  productions  of  Mr.  Jay." — X  Y. 
Observer. 

Evenings  with  Jesus. 

A  series  of  Devotional  Readings  for  the  Closet  and  the  Family.  By 
the  late  Rev. -William  Jay,  of  Bath.  (A  companion  volume 
to  l\Ior/iings  with  Jesus.)     $1  25. 

The  Divine  Life : 

A  Book  of  Facts  and  Histories,  showing  the  Manifold  AYorkings  of 
the  Holy  Spirit.  By  the  Rev.  Jonx  Kennedy,  M.  A.,  F.  R.  G.  S., 
of  London.     In  1  vol.  12mo.     Cloth,  $1. 

"  In  this  work  the  reader  is  enabled  to  see  the  peculiar  providences  under 
which  various  persons  were  led  to  seek  an  interest  in  Christ;  the  means 
which  were  blessed  to  their  spiritual  enlightenment:  their  conflicts  and 
discouragements,  and  their  experiences  when  they  found  peace  in  believing. 
Such  a  work  cannot  hut  prove  edifying  to  the  Christian,  whilst  it  is  well 
adapted  to  instruct  anxious  inquirers,  and  may  he  of  great  benefit  to  min- 
isters in  their  dealings  with  troubled  souls/' — Presbyterian. 

"We  can  cordially  recommend  it." — Pres.  Quarterly. 

"It  is  well  adapted  to  do  good." — OongregaJtionalist. 

"Its  narratives  are  deeply  interesting;  its  instruction  is  highly  import- 
ant."— 2V.  Y.  Observer. 


The  Six  Days  of  Creation. 

By  W.  G.  Rmxi).  A  series  of  affectionate  Letters  from  a  Father  to 
his  Children,  developing  the  progressive  advances  of  Creation 
during  the  Six  Days  :  in  which  the  Natural  History  of  Animals, 
Plants,  Minerals,  Celestial  Objects,  etc.,  and  their  uses  and  re- 
lations to  man,  are  treated  with  particular  reference  to  the 
illustration  of  Scriptural  truth.  A  highly  interesting  work. 
From  the  last  London  edition.  With  numerous  illustrations. 
1  vol.  crown  8vo.     Cloth,  $1. 

"An  elegant  manual  for  the  young;  far  superior  to  the  large  majority 
that  we  have  seen.  We  have  read  it  with  unalloyed  satisfaction.  *  *  *  We 
earnestly  recommend  this  book  to  parents  as  one  of  the  most  charming  and 
beneficial  presents  they  can  make  to  their  children." — Methodist  Quarterly 
1!  view. 

"  We  can  recommend  it  as  an  excellent  family  book,  and  the  more  there 
are  like  it  the  better.  *  *  *  The  work  abounds  with  graphic  pictorial  illus- 
trations, and  can  scarcely  fail  to  interest,  and  instruct,  and  sharpen  the 
appetite  for  scriptural  truth." — Christian  Intelligencer. 


The  Book  and  its  Story. 

A  charming  History  of  the  Bible,  for  the  Young.  Handsomely 
illustrated  with  numerous  cuts  and  a  steel  engraving.  1  vol. 
12mo.     Cloth,  $1. 

"This  is  precisely  such  a  book  as  should  he  found  in  every  family.  The 
wood-cuts  and  illustrations  are  exceedingly  valuahle.  The  publishers  dis- 
play great  taste  in  the  getting  up  of  the  -work." — Pres.  Banner. 

"A  deeply  interesting  volume.  We  shall  rejoice  to  know  that  a  copy  of 
this  choice  volume  is  liuding  its  way  to  every  family  in  the  land." — Chris- 
tian Visitor. 

Bacon's  Complete  Works. 

The  Complete  Works  of  Francis  Bacon,  Lord  Chancellor  of  Eng- 
land.    A  new  edition,  with  a  Life  of  the  Author.     By  Basil 
Montagu,  Esq.     In  3  vols.,  royal  8vo.     Cloth,  $7  50. 
Sheep,  $8  50. 
Half  morocco,  $12. 
Calf  backs,  $12. 

The  American  edition  of  the  Works  of  Lord  Bacon  now  offered  to  the 
public  is  reprinted  from  the  most  approved  English  edition,  that  of  Basil 
Montagu,  Esq.,  which  has  recently  issued  from  the  celebrated  press  of  Pick- 
ering (the  modern  Aldus),  in  seventeen  octavo  volumes.  It  contains  the 
complete  works  of  the  illustrious  philosopher,  those  of  Latin  being  trans- 
lated into  English.  Iu  order  to  render  the  publication  cheap,  and  therefore 
attainable  by  all  our  public  and  social  libraries,  as  well  as  by  those  general 
readers  who  study  economy,  the  seventeen  octavo  volumes  have  been  com- 
prised in  three  volumes,  imperial  octavo.  Being  printed  from  the  most 
accurate  as  well  as  complete  English  edition,  and  carefully  revised,  the 
American  edition  will  possess  great  advantages  for  the  critical  scholar  as 
well  as  the  general  reader.  In  typography,  paper,  and  binding,  it  will  be 
recognized  as  a  brilliant  specimen  of  the  products  of  the  American  book 
trade. 

The  Five  Gateways  of  Knowledge. 

By  George  Wilson,  M.D.,  F.  R.  S.E.,  Regius  Professor  of  Tech- 
nology in  the  University  of  Edinburgh  ;  President  of  the  Royal 
Scottish  Society  of  Arts,  &c.  &c.     1  vol.  16ino.    Cloth,  50  cts. 

"This  is  a  beautifully  written  and  altogether  delightful  little  book  on  the 
five  senses. ' ' — Nonconformist. 

"This  book  is  perfect  after  its  kind.  *  *  *  For  delicate  beauty  of  com- 
position it  is  almost  unrivalled;  yet  nothing  could  be  more  simple  iu  de- 
sign."— London  Quarterly  Review. 

Russell's  (Lady  Rachel)  Letters. 

The  Letters  of  Rachel,  Lady  Russell.  New  edition.  Containing 
many  Letters  never  before  published.  Complete  in  one  hand- 
some volume,  12mo.,  $1  25. 

"Lady  Rachel  Russell  was  the  wife  of  the  noble  and  unfortunate  Lord 
William  Russell,  the  compatriot  of  Algernon  Sidney  and  other  illustrious 
asserters  of  English  liberty  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Her  letters  have 
passed  through  numerous  editions  in  England,  and  have  been  long  con- 
sidered models  of  epistolary  style.  They  are  full  of  tender  sentiment,  and 
relate  to  matters  of  the  most  touching  interest." — Commercial  Advertiser. 


Princeton  Theological  Seminary-Speer  Library 


1    1012  01148  4880 


DATE  DUE 

— — 

0  1996 

j    HIGHSMITH* 

45230 

Printed 
In  USA 

